


The Jake and Amy Plan

by mlepclaynos



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Are Jake's glasses a character?, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Established Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago, Established Relationship, F/M, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago Fluff, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Parenthood, Parents Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago, Pregnancy, Pregnant Amy Santiago, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:28:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26725960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mlepclaynos/pseuds/mlepclaynos
Summary: It's been a few years since the birth of Mac Peralta, and life is just as Amy had planned it (with Jake, of course).But she never took one thing into account - things don't always go according to plan especially when her husband convinced her to let fate decide certain things for them, such as a sibling for Mac.Thanks to a night out with the appearance of 4 drink Amy, she was now on the floor of her bathroom surrounded by pregnancy tests.AKA - a pregnancy fic
Relationships: Jake Peralta & Amy Santiago, Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago
Comments: 51
Kudos: 151





	1. Change of Plans

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This is my first attempt at writing on here, so very nervous but I hope you all will enjoy it!
> 
> I can leave this as a one shot, but I am hoping/planning to create this as a multi-chapter fic without a specific number of chapters planned! 
> 
> So here it goes!
> 
> I also recently joined Tumblr and I can take any requests you may have on there at mlepclaynos99 :)

She sat on the floor of the bathroom, her beautifully organized calendar app open as she retraced the dates. The boxes of tests lay next to her and her hands reached to open one only to come back up to her lips, for once not knowing what her next steps would. She didn’t know if she wanted to know, trying to think of other reasons why she would be late. But as she scrolled back in her calendar, she figured how this could have happened. Specifically, her guess was it was during their spontaneous celebration of Jake putting away a serial killer paired with four drink Amy, the perfect recipe for not taking precautions. She shook her head with a chuckle thinking about that night before realizing the situation she had at hand because of that night. 

How would this fit into the Amy Santiago – now Jake and Amy – plan. They had their hands full already with a 3-year-old Mac, she had her responsibilities as a Lieutenant, and Jake…

Her mental ramblings and panic mode came to a halt and the corners of her mouth slightly curved as she thought about her husband. Being the best detective at the nine-nine, the best father to his mini-me, and more than everything she could ever ask for, kept his plate full. Her smile grow a bit bigger as she thought about the brief discussion they had after Mac’s first birthday when her parents and of course, Charles, had brought up questions of whether Mac would ever have siblings. Quoting the Amy Santiago plan, Jake had shut down the nosy queries of everyone who had ever thought of asking her personal questions, and surprisingly, gotten her relatives to understand why it was so wrong it be asking her when she was having another baby.

While she was happy in the moment that they had shut down the topic, she had brought it back up when they were in the privacy of their bedroom…

~~~~

_2 years ago_

She walked into their bedroom after struggling to put their baby to sleep, shaking her head as she knew she didn’t Mac and his father eating cake for dinner for this very reason. Walking into their room, she expected her husband to have the same energy Mac did just minutes ago, but she was pleasantly surprised as he sat on their bed with a small box open before him and a reminiscent smile on his face.

“Ames…can you believe it? This time last year, you almost had to give birth to Mac alone… and oh my god, with the help of a… firefighter!” He whispered the last words as he faked a shudder making a laugh escape her mouth.

He really did make her laugh.

As she joined him on their bed, immediately recognizing the box as a collection of some memories of that day, she remembered how he had carefully placed anything he could to remember that day and assembled a carefully organized box for them. She saw the small information sheet that had been taped to Mac’s hospital crib in his hands, and as she picked up the tiny clothes the hospital had put them in, she held them knowing her small boy was growing up too fast already. And that’s when she remembered her mother’s questions and looked towards her husband. Past him, on their bedroom wall was a picture of him holding a baby Mac at the hospital and she wondered how many other times she had seen him with so much peace, happiness, and a glowing smile on his face. She found herself wondering if he ever wanted to live through that feeling again.

They hadn’t ever discussed having children before they got married, and since even during their discussion during their “casecation”, they never talked about how many kids they wanted. She always assumed that he wouldn’t want more since the thought of having one baby had him spiralling into worries of becoming into his own father. But the past year, he had only proven his doubts wrong and shown not only everyone else, but himself that Mac couldn’t have gotten a better father. And now as she thought of him shutting down everyone’s questions, it seemed like he had also assumed she only wanted one, but she herself wasn’t sure about what she wanted. She put the baby clothes back into the box, moving it away from Jake, catching his attention as he put it away assuming she wanted to sleep. As he returned to their bed, she had to get it off her chest.

“Jake…I think we should talk…after what happened today.” He looked up towards her and seeing her serious expression, his own smile faded and he turned himself towards her, immediately filled with concern.

“Is everything okay Ames?”

“Well…I was just thinking…because we talked about kids…but I guess we never talked about this…and I thought we had…but we didn’t…” She sighed and try to think of how she should bring up the topic, wanting to approach it with caution knowing they had their first serious fight about this very topic yet she wanted clarity which was so difficult for them, only when it came to children. They could talk about anything and everything, except children. Jake had clearly understood her hesitation and she felt his soft hands on top of hers, thumb stroking her knuckles as he tried to make her feel comfortable enough to talk about what was on her mind. Closing her eyes momentarily to build up composure, she knew she had to put the question out there and they would have talk from there on. Without a second thought, she blurted it out.

“Do you want more kids?” She met his eyes, trying to read his reaction and prepare herself for his answer. She was expecting anything except the soft look he gave her and a sense of relief over his face. He looked down, slightly nervously, thinking about the last time they had a similar conversation. He took a moment, continuing to making circles on her hand with his thumb before he looked back up at her, a gentle smile on his face. He moved himself closer to her, close enough she felt safer from the impending conversation as smell of his favourite Lush vanilla soap surrounded her. As his arm went around her she relaxed and allowed herself to rest against their bed frame and wait for his answer. He shrugged at her, not knowing what to say or having a way to lighten up the mood for once.

“Well… honestly I don’t know, do you want another?” She shrugged back, her honest conflicted feelings coming forth as she thought more about the idea of more babies.

“I’ve honestly never thought too much about it. I guess I thought we would be so busy with one, that I always thought I wouldn’t have any time to think about another one. I guess I spent all my time planning every step of my career, but I only ever knew I wanted to have a baby, but never thought about babies.”

“I’m happy with Mac…but then on the other side, I would be happy to take care of a little mini-Amy too. She would keep me on my toes.” He leaned in, giving her forehead a soft kiss and her heart skipped for a moment thinking of Jake taking care of a little baby girl. But she brought herself back to reality knowing that if they wanted to have another child, it would have to happen soon because she wasn’t getting any younger and it was bound to bring up other questions. And the thought of Jake taking care of their children sparked another question in her mind that she never realized they had talked about. Jake and almost everyone who knew her was aware of her career goals and ambitions, but she had never asked Jake nor had he ever brought up the subject of what he wanted his future in the NYPD to be like.

“But Jake, what about your career? I know if I get promoted, it’ll be hard to balance work and kids anyways and it will be even harder if you’re sergeant too. We can always try for another, but you do want to move past detective, don’t you?”

“No.” The response was quick and absolute. She looked at him curiously and wondered how he was so sure he never wanted any sort of promotion. She was so sure if he tried, with his skills, he had the potential to have ambitions that matched her own. Earlier, she thought he never pursued anything because of how childish he was, but now she had seen him evolving into a slightly more mature detective. She didn’t realize exactly how surprised she looked or he thought his answer was very obvious because she heard him laugh for a moment snapping out of her thoughts. He reached forward and tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear before cupping her cheek with his hand, and as if it was the easiest thing in the world to say, he softly told her…

“Ames, all I’ve wanted to do since Johnny and Dora kissed, is build a life with you. And I knew exactly what that meant. Being the support you need to become the youngest caption in NYPD history and obviously living out my Die Hard dream, which I can do just fine as detective, also how else will I get the title of best detective ever if I become a sarge?”

Breaking his serious tone with a smile, he watched her shake his head as she put her arms around him, closing her eyes in hopes the tears wouldn’t slip onto her cheeks. All she wanted to do was hold him in arms and cherish him for as long as she could. She knew he was extremely supportive of her, but hearing his words and how much he valued her dreams over all else, she didn’t know what words would justify how she felt and what she could say to him. She simply pressed her lips against his jawline and touched her forehead against his. It was as if he understood everything she felt as he cupped her face and brought his lips in closer to her, softly kissing her before he made her look into his eyes.

“But seriously babe, I am happy with my career and I’m doing exactly what I want to be doing. Now my job now is to support you and your goals, which include taking care of our baby or babies.” She nodded quietly, but knowing his wife, he knew this would weigh down her mind until she knew what to do and plan her next steps. Sighing, he didn’t know what he could say to make it easier on her, but he did know what he wanted to do.

“Babe…can we not plan this one thing?” She looked at him almost offended at the thought of his words but had a instant guilty look and he shook his head knowing she thought she had annoyed him with her need to plan everything.

“I’m not saying that because I don’t want to talk about this, but I just want to let this be. I would love another baby and I know you would too…but we’re both happy and satisfied with our family as it is. Let’s just let fate handle this one?” He proposed the idea, knowing how hard she had been on herself when they had trouble getting pregnant last time and he didn’t want to see her going through the same again, especially since they had Mac and their little family was perfect anyways. As he watched her, much to his surprise, thinking about actually going with the flow as he wanted to, he chuckled trying to cheer her up as an idea popped into his head.

“With our age, if we get pregnant then that’s great and we will have two adorable babies, Mac being drafted to the Knicks and our daughter doing the library sciences degree you wanted. It’ll be great, the best of both worlds. If not, then let’s not worry about it. I mean, we got pregnant with Mac when we least expected and when it was meant to happen, so let’s just let it be.” She didn’t know what it was, but she felt herself finding comfort in his words, words that would have sent her into a long rant had he said them a few years ago. But she was okay with not knowing right now, she would be okay not having a solid plan, she was okay as long as he was with her. As she smiled at him and nodded in agreement, he lay down on their bed opening his arms, letting her little spoon, a rare occurrence that she was more than happy to accept.

“So…having a second baby would be nice, but it’s also okay if it never happens?” She asked just wanting to make sure her husband had told her what was in his heart, and without a word, he wrapped his arms and legs around her, kissing her hair silently as if agreeing with her. She took his hand was wrapped around her stomach and brought it to her heart holding him close to her.

“I love you so much.” She kissed his hand before closing her eyes, falling asleep with a smile on her face knowing she was going to be just fine as long as she was in his arm and he buried his face in the crook of his neck, falling asleep to the rhythm of her heartbeat he felt under his hand, knowing no matter what, his life would be perfect as long as Amy Santiago was in it.

~~~~

_Back on the bathroom floor…_

He said he was okay with another baby, but what if he had changed his mind? Afterall, it had been two years since then and since then they had protected and unprotected sex but nothing ever happened. She hadn’t pushed for another discussion since she was now 40 and the thoughts of expanding their family wasn’t an easy reality so it had never crossed their minds. It was barely on her mind and she guessed he hadn’t given it any thought since their talk 2 years ago. But here she was, sitting on the bathroom floor, a complete mess as she realized she didn’t even know if her husband wanted a baby, and for that matter if they could handle another baby. What if Jake had changed his mind? What if he realized toddlers were a lot of work? What if her promotion to Lieutenant had changed things? Why did she let him convince her to not plan ahead?

“Babe, are you okay?” His concerned voice accompanied with a knock on the door snapped her out of thoughts. Taking a deep breath, she looked over at the tests that she had spread on the floor before hearing Jake knock on the door again. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she tried to speak without a quiver in her voice.

“Umm two minutes.” She waited for a minute trying to hear his footsteps walking away, and when she heard nothing, she carefully got off the floor. Turning on the sink, she splashed some water on her face trying to settle her nervous and the weird feelings in her stomach. She picked up a box containing the pregnancy test and tried to open it with her shaking hands only to place it back onto the counter. She didn’t know what she wanted it to say, she didn’t know if she should tell Jake before taking the test, how would she tell him if it was positive, should she tell him if it wasn’t?

 _Oh Amy_ – she knew she was spiralling and there was only one way she could do this. She needed Jake.

Entering their living room, clutching onto the Clearblue box in her hand, she found her two boys in their own world.

Jake was laying on his back in the middle of their living room, clearly breathless after chasing Mac who had been loving his abilities to run away exactly when they needed him to stay still. She guessed Jake had just given up on catching up to their boy since Mac noticed his dad on the ground and kneeled next to him. Her heart melted at the sight of their sweet baby who lay down next to Jake, grabbing his hand as if concerned for his dad.

“Jake…” She called out to him as he ran his hand through Mac’s curly hair while the toddler reached out for his dad’s glasses, quite similar to the ones he had once made fun of her for wearing.

“Oh gosh Ames, Mac and cheese has been out running me like crazy, does this mean I should be exercising more?” He wondered aloud without looking her way, where he would have seen the nervousness visible on her face.

“Jake…” She called out again just as Mac had managed to grab the glasses of Jake’s face, causing her husband to roll over and start tickling the toddler who was bright eyed and proud of his actions. Walking up to the duo, Amy hoped to catch his attention but Jake was so occupied in his attempts to get his glasses back, he didn’t pay attention until she spoke up, in her stern mom voice getting both Mac and Jake looking up at her.

“Jake!” Seeing her serious face, not only Jake, but Mac’s smile faded. Picking up their son, Jake got off the floor, face immediately filled with worry about what was going on with his wife, he heard a rattle and looked at her hands. Seeing the box in her hands and the visible nervousness as her hands fidgeted while she was tapping her foot not meeting his eyes, he whispered her name in such a quiet tone, she barely heard it.

She looked up and besides the expected look of surprised, she could have sworn he almost had a tiniest smile curving up on his face. However, it was instantly gone when he raised his brows, and his brown eyes full of concern questioning what was going on. She didn’t know what to say besides stepping forward, inches away from him as she looked down.

“I need you.” She whispered into his shoulder as he pulled her into a hug with his left arm, and Mac following his mother’s action as he placed his shoulder on his dad’s right shoulder. Jake kissed the top of her head, squeezing her shoulder in affirmation. She nodded her head understanding his silent gesture that he will be with her. Following him as he sat down on their couch, she played with her wedding ring as he tried to distract Mac in the play pen. A few minutes that felt like ages and the air around her feeling thick since he had given her no indication on how he was feeling as she sprung this on him. Before her nerves got the better of her, she saw him kneeling in front of he forwarded his hand with a smile. She placed her hand on top of him and he didn’t even take a moment to intertwine their fingers together and walked her to their bedroom. He pointed their ensuite bathroom that she had been on the floor of minutes ago, and when she looked down he peeked in and saw the tests on the floor. Quietly he gathered the tests off the floor while she walked up to him wanting to explain.

“I don’t know…I’m late and I don’t know what I want and what to do.” He looked up at her and smiled as he took the test from her hands, putting it down before taking her hands into his. She felt him admiring her as he tucked hair behind her ear, his finger pushing her chin up asking her to look at him. He softly caressed her cheeks watching his wife’s nerves settling as he trying to be assuring.

“It’s okay, remember we talked about this. If we’re pregnant, awesome. If not, that’s okay too babe.” Kissing her forehead, he pulled her in for a hug knowing there was only so much he could say to help her. He let her hold onto him, rubbing soothing circles on her back. She was taking it in, the thoughts about his reaction that worried her slowly washed away and she felt her quickened heartbeat returning to normal. He was okay no matter what happened just like she was and she knew it was going to be okay. Not knowing how long they had been standing in the silence, he knew he had to say something since Amy couldn’t take the test on her own, otherwise she would have never asked him to be with her in this moment.

“Babe you need to do this so we can at least know what’s happening.” He slowly broke their hug when she nodded and made her sit on the toilet seat. He didn’t stop giving her a comforting smile every time she looked at him, watching him opening up multiple tests and throwing away any that had been expired from when they were trying 3 years ago, making her chuckle as he pointed out the dates. Walking out of the room and coming back before she even had a chance to say anything, he handed her his large water bottle knowing her nervousness was going to make it hard for her to take the test and she always needed water.

Giving her privacy and going to check on Mac, he gave her a quick kiss on her cheek asking her to not worry, joking she would ace this test no matter what. Smiling at his silly antics, she deep a long deep breath, and knew she would fine. They would be fine.

When he returned, she had 5 tests placed on toilet paper and tears in her eyes. He didn’t know what the tests said but he didn’t care. All he saw were her tears and she was in the comfort of his arms before she had a chance to say anything. Her arms went around him, holding him close not knowing how to tell him what had changed in the 2 minutes he had left her alone. She let out a sob only for him to hold onto her tighter, as if he wished it would take away everything that hurt her.

“Ames…” His soft voice made her move away shaking her head. As she had taken the tests, she had mentally relived every emotion she felt when she had gotten the positive test for Mac. She had the chance to no longer worry about his reaction and she thought about herself. She knew she had told him she never thought about more children, but she had finished the 5th test, she felt her heart pounding and she knew what she wanted. Waiting for him to come back and waiting for results on the tests, she knew what she wanted. She wished she was able to go in with no expectations, and it had been going that way until she was stilling on her toilet waiting for the result. Suddenly the memory of Jake and Mac in the living room popped into her mind and all she could think of being able to see her husband and son with another baby…

“I don’t know my heart wanted a baby until right now, but I don’t want to hope now in case it’s negative.” She closed her eyes and the tears fell onto her cheeks. Feeling her head hurt, knowing her heart would hurt much worse if the test came back negative, she wanted to hide and placed her head on her knees, not wanting to know the answer to the impending questions. He couldn’t do anything anymore, all he had the power to do was be a comfort and he tried make the waiting time less terrifying. He placed one hand on her knee squeezing it, reminding her he was there while his other hand was combing through her hair knowing very well she had a pounding headache. He didn’t want to say to her with her visible anxiety, but deep down he was hoping the test would also come back positive. He hadn’t thought of more children since Mac but now that there was a chance, his mind had already thought of how their life would be with another baby.

As the tests announced they had results with a beep, breaking both their thought trains, they both stared at the pile of tests without wanting to look. They didn’t want their hopes shattered but they both knew how hard it was to get pregnant the first time and they hadn’t gotten any younger. Mentally already trying to console themselves, they looked at each other. Her eyes told him she couldn’t look and he didn’t want to, but he knew he wasn’t the one who had to take the tests and go through everything she had been dealing with since she realized she was late. Getting of the floor where his legs had fallen asleep, he rolled his eyes at her, putting up a smile he hoped she would reciprocate.

“Fine, I guess I’ll touch your pee and look.” She let out a chuckle as he dramatically reached to pick up a test. He really made her laugh.

As he looked down at the tests, his poker face came forth. She didn’t know what to expect, her heart was beating so fast as if it would explode if she didn’t hear the words. She got up and held his hand, not wanting to look down to see what words were on the tests. He looked at her, surprise visible on his face and she raised her brows, silently asking him to speak up. Feeling his hands shaking in hers, she held him tight making the words leave his mouth.

“Ames…we’re having a baby.” She looked up at him frozen in shock while she watched his surprised face turning into one of the biggest smiles she had ever seen on his face. Holding up the test, he repeated pregnant 5 times and showed her every test, wanting to make her and himself that this was real. As he put down the last test, he didn’t wait a moment before capturing her lips with his. His soft kiss turned deep, trying to show her exactly how he felt and she knew it was happening. This was real. As her hands went up, playing with his hair, kissing him back, she slowed down as she felt his hand stopped gently on her stomach. Pulling back, she looked down and placed her hand on top of his before meeting his eyes. The tears of happiness that she had pooling up were reflected in his own eyes, and for a moment it all seemed too good to be real.

“Jake, we’re pregnant…” She had to say it out loud for it to be real, for this to not be some dream that would end. He nodded, assuring her it was happening before their trance was broken by a loud noise of their son calling out for his mommy and daddy. Wiping off their tears, they shared a quick kiss before rushing out to see to tend to Mac. As she calmed down their son, he looked over at her and without thinking, the words left his mouth.

“We got this, right?” She looked back at him, for the first time that evening with a calm smile while he looked on nervously. She knew he was already thinking about how he wanted to be the best for their kids, and not want to disappoint anyone.

“I think so. You’re already such a good dad and Mac is doing so good. I think we can do this.” She wondered aloud as, trying to sound confident, because he would catch on if she lied to herself and him. He relaxed as he looked their smiling child and looked back at her. She believed he could be a good dad to two kids, she thought they would be okay.

And Jake Peralta only cared about her opinion and what she thought.

“Then I know so.” He proudly and opened his arms for her and Mac. Snuggling into a hug, he held his family close and look at his wife who had a smile so bright and rare, he could remember every time he had seen her this happy. It was finally settling in.

They were having a baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there it is!
> 
> I hope you all liked it! If you could leave a comment or kudos, it would mean so much!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	2. Some Things Never Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things may be changing with a new addition to the Peralta-Santiago household, but there were some things that will remain the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thank you so much for liking the first chapter! I never expected people to like the story and I really appreciate all your comments & encouragement to write more! This chapter has more fluff because the midterm stress is real and this was the perfect distraction, but the plot will continue to pick up in the upcoming chapters! That being said, I hope you all enjoy this <3

She slowly stirred awake, feeling a cool morning chill on her face. Closing her eyes the moment she opened them, she felt his warm arms embracing her and immediately curled into them. As the desire to go back to sleep left her, she managed to open her eyes looking directly at the time on their alarm clock. She took a deep breath trying to be quiet and careful as she turned her only to stop when she felt him moving. Nuzzling his nose against the top of her shoulder, he cuddled in closer to her, tightening the wrap he had her in. Relaxing into his arms, she felt his one curl brushing against her neck, making her mumble his name. When he mumbled back incoherently in his sleep, his hand that rested on her middle slowly rubbed her drawing her attention. A smile spread across her face instinctively as she remembered the events of the previous night and began to slowly turn towards him without disturbing his sleep.

Feeling a warmth in her chest when she watched how serene he looked in his land of dreams, she couldn’t stop her hand from reaching for his soft curls, pulling herself even closer to him if that was possible. Adorable, she thought to herself when he tried to hide his face from her prying hands, scrunching his face when he realized there was no way out. His deep sleepy voice mumbled in her ear asking her to go back to sleep, sending a sudden rush inside her and before she knew it, she pressed her lips onto his. When he seemed to have slowly realized what was happening, he softly responded back, entangling his legs around her. Deepening their kiss, she bit his lower lip demanding entry that he was more than happy to allow. As he slowly came out of his half asleep stated, woken by the sudden passion his wife was expressing, they had to separate to breath.

“Good morning to you too!” He spoke up breathing heavily only to laugh throwing his head back onto his pillow when she blushed, hiding herself in his shirtless chest. Drawing circles on his bare skin, she whispered a good morning to him only to be met with silence. Wondering if he managed to go back to sleep after that kiss, she looked up at him only to find him staring at their ceiling as if he was in shock. Gently shaking him, she got his attention and was momentarily worried until he looked down at her, asking her ever so softly.

“Ames…last night…was it a dream?”

The innocent look in his eyes stopped her from laughing and she took his hand into hers, guiding it towards her unchanged stomach. She watched him trying to hide his tears under the pretense of a yawn while his hand slowly slipped under her shirt to caress her middle. His touch was ever so gentle, and her heart felt like it was swelling knowing this was how precious he thought their child was going to be. She didn’t know if it was because she kept thinking about him with a baby once again or if it was the way he was looking at her, but she couldn’t control herself, capturing his lips once again. She refused to let go of him, cherishing the few moments she got with him the mornings until it hit her.

There would be another baby in their small home. They didn’t have any preparation to add another member to their household, she didn’t even know how far along she was, and thus began a whirlwind of panic and Her eyes were wide and she almost pushed him, her hand clamped over her mouth, catching Jake off guard and making him sit up next to her.

“Oh gosh! Jake, we are so behind! I haven’t gotten any OBGYN appointments scheduled, I haven’t watched my diet and exercise, I’m sure I shouldn’t just be eating than Mac’s leftovers, and-”

Placing his palm on her lips, he stopped her ramblings as relief ran through his body. Chuckling at her, his relief was mirrored in her body as she watched him shaking his head, trying to not laugh. Moving his hand away, her lips were now in a pout and her eyebrows crinkled in worry. Knowing how serious this was for her, he regained his own composure and placed his hands on her shoulder, steadying her heart rate that had gone up in her moment of panic

“Amy, first off you need to start breathing normally. You and the baby need oxygen.” As if on cue, she let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding onto. Watching her calm down, Jake had the chance to stretch out his arms, exhaling loudly as he rubbed any bit of sleep remaining out of him before he turned back to her with a plan to put all her worries to ease.

“Now you’re going to get ready meanwhile I’m going to make you that tea you like, get some food for you to eat and I’ll stay on Mac duty until you do your thing and magically have everything in order.” He took charge, making her want to kiss him yet again, also making her wonder why she wanted to keep him in bed so badly.

However, he didn’t give her another chance to say or do anything, quickly placing a peck like kiss on her forehead before he slipped out of bed. Following his figure with her eyes, she didn’t know she frowned when he found a t-shirt and covered up his bare form, which was more toned than ever thanks to the constant picking up of their toddler. She sighed when he walked out of their room and out of her sight only after pointing at the bathroom door. They must have rubbed off on each other, she convinced herself as she wondered why she was the one who didn’t want to get out of bed and he seemed to have way more energy than her.

~~~~

Walking out into the kitchen to the smell of his specialty pancakes, she found him engrossed into perfecting his favourite breakfast – to eat and to make for them – not noticing her presence. Slowly approaching him, she slid her arms around his waist, resting her head onto his back as he placed one hand on top of her joined ones. Adoring him as he focussed solely on the breakfast that was making her mouth water, one of her hands slipped from his grasp to move back his infamous curl while the other playfully traced along the waistband of his sweats. Clearing his throat, taken aback by his wife, he turned off the stove before facing her, hands on his hip and a very dramatic look on his face.

“Amy Santiago, what has gotten into you today?” Arms still around him, she rested her head on his chest, and felt him running his hands through her hair, knowing he loved the smell of her lavender shampoo.

“Jake…I love you so much.”

“Aww I love you so much too babe.” A kiss landed on the top of her head as his hands found their way on to her hips. Pulling her closer to himself, he found himself caged between the countertop and wife that looked on at him with a glint in his eyes that made him want lay in their bed, surrendering himself to her. But before he could give into her needs, a noise came from their son’s room, making the parents separate. Looking at each other and realizing the position they stood in, they burst out laughing as she gave him space to walk away.

Jake walked into their son’s room quietly in case the toddler was still sleeping. Approaching the bed, he was met with the giggles of Mac who was more than excited to see his dad. Sitting down on the toddler’s bed, he ran his calloused hand over his son’s head, messing up the hair that resembled his own.

“Good morning!” He patiently waited for Mac to get up, never getting tired of watching how adorable he looked as he would roll in bed lazily, also much like him, before he sat up in bed rubbing his eyes. Jake didn’t ever think he would stop being amused at how he and Amy actually created the sweet child that had his arms open for his father.

“Mo’ning” Mac quietly spoke up eliciting a warm hug from his dad before he was lifted off his bed.

Jake asked his son whether he had sweet dreams, sending the child into a ramble of his imagination that made Jake look on at him in excitement, trying to understand what was going on in Mac’s head. As he took his son to the bathroom, his smile only disappeared and was replaced with a look of dread when he helped his son up on a step stool and handed him his toothbrush. He usually let Amy take on the brushing part of Mac’s mornings, because he knew there was no way he would live up to Amy’s standards. But when he heard her footsteps walking around Mac’s bedroom, he knew he either had to deal with making both beds or brushing with his son, and either way he was going to be a ball of sweat by the end of it. Sighing, he looked down at his son who was eagerly waiting for his toothpaste, and he crossed his fingers this wouldn’t end in disaster.

It was only a few minutes later, he was putting away their toothbrushes, relieved he hadn’t gotten a disapproving glare from Mac or Amy, both of whom were over concerned about their dental health, something he still didn’t understand. He held out his arms to help his son off the stool only to have the toddler turn the other way.

“Foss!” Mac loudly exclaimed pointing at the floss sticks placed in the corner and he could have sworn he heard Amy’s laugh from the kitchen as his palm met with his forehead. Plastering on a smile for the sake of the child, he picked up a stick and got onto his knees, hoping he wouldn’t screw this up. Maybe he should have listened to Amy when she told him flossing was important.

Amy, who had been laughing in the kitchen at her husband’s struggle, as she set up their breakfast on the dining table, tried to imagine Jake’s current state. But as the noise from the bathroom was eerily quiet, her lip formed a thin line and brows furrowed before she realized how much of a disaster the bathroom would be if Jake was given string floss. Her feet quickly lead her to the bathroom ready to see Jake and Mac covered in dental floss or one of them needing a visit to the dentist only to have her steps halt at the doorway. Crossing her arms, she leaned against the door looking on her two boys smiling at each other in the mirror trying to figure out who had done a better job brushing their teeth. The two were once again so lost in their own little world, they hadn’t noticed her until Mac’s eyes wandered to her figure.

“Momma!” Kneeling down upon hearing him, Amy wrapped his small figure into her arms, planting a kiss on his cheek that the toddler returned.

“Wow look at you, such nice clean teeth….” She exclaimed making Mac look down with a blush while she looked up at Jake, who smirked at her, clearly extremely proud of himself only for her to turn back to their son.

“You did way better than dad!” She loudly whispered to their kid and got back up to smirk at her husband who dramatically looked on with offended look.

“Alright alright, but who is now ready to eat pancakes made by dad?” Jake quickly waved his hands gesturing everyone towards the kitchen, trying to move on only because he didn’t want his wife to see all the floss that was now in the garbage because of the struggle he had.

Settling down for breakfast, she couldn’t wait to dig into the sweet golden pancakes that she had on her plate. As if he knew how hungry she was, Jake quietly offered her the syrup first, something so rare that she almost hesitated for a second. As she began eating, she wanted to let out an aww when she saw the mini pancakes being placed on Mac’s plate. Maybe it was the news she had gotten the day before but the sight of her husband cutting up the already small food into bite sized pieces made her want to see him re-live the days when Mac first started eating and how nervous & careful Jake was. He was at his happiest when he was around their baby and it only made her heart yearn to see him with their new baby even more.

She didn’t realize she had been staring at him long enough to catch his attention, her fork now untouched on her plate, that he had call out her name to snap her out of her wandering thoughts. Caught off guard as he raised his brows, she shrugged it off and decided it would be funnier trying to tease him about what he was getting himself into by offering to watch Mac all morning.

“Interesting breakfast choice babe, you’re getting him ready after this so all the sticky syrup is your responsibility.” His hand, holding the bottle of syrup, didn’t move for a split second when he looked up at her and then at Mac who, despite his best efforts, was still messy when he ate. But she knew something was up when she saw his face light up the way it did when he had a breakthrough at work.

“Well, someone once told me that you shouldn’t feed kids a lot of syrup, so bam! Just used your amazing parenting against you.” He proudly smirked as he dropped the tiniest amount of syrup on their son’s food before extending his palm for a hi-five the toddler was more than happy to give him. Shaking her head, she turned back to her food.

He really made her laugh.

~~~~

She was always so cold. He sighed watching her sitting on the couch in the same position she had been in for the last hour, engulfed by his oversized hoodie. Picking up a fleece blanket, he placed it over her legs, tucking her in which finally got her to look up from the notebook she held in her hand. As she smiled at him, his hand reach for a strand of hair that had escaped the bun she had placed her hair in, carefully resting it behind her ear. Quickly kissing her forehead, he looked around their home and took in a deep breath before he slumped onto the couch next to her.

He looked over at her, wanting to cuddle after the morning had exhausted him, but watching her busy in neatly writing down notes, he decided otherwise settling on watching his Saturday cartoons at a low volume. He knew she needed her space to sort out the million concerns that were in her head, which he more than happy to give her as long as he knew she was at peace. Looking around the apartment once again, he made sure the kitchen was clean as he could get it, Mac was bathed and dressed, and their toddler was been busy playing with his toys in the middle of the living room. It had been tiring, but as long as she was okay with his work, it would have been worth it. No matter how crazy busy their life was and how busier it was going to get with the addition of another baby, he couldn’t think of anything he wouldn’t do to bring a genuinely relaxed smile onto her face.

Another baby. He inched closer to her without a thought as he imagined what it would be like to have a baby in the house again. He had gone through the rollercoaster of feelings when Mac was born, but there wasn’t anything he would take back if given the chance. He wouldn’t give up the worry that he wouldn’t live up to the responsibilities of being a father, the nervousness when they had entered their home with Mac unaware of what to do next, the high of happiness when Mac did anything for the first time, and the craziness of running on no sleep, making decision for the little human they had created. It was all beautiful and being on that crazy yet fruitful journey with Amy made it even more precious. And now, he couldn’t wait to do it all over again.

Looking over at Mac, he tried to understand where people saw the resemblance between him and his son, but to his own eyes failed to see why Amy thought their son was a mini Jake.

Perhaps he never wanted to see himself in his son for he wanted his son to have a happy childhood.

So all he ever saw in their son was her habits such as the morning floss incident, the way their son needed two blankets to sleep, and his keen interest in books even at two and a half, albeit they were all superhero picture books. And he didn’t know why, but since last night, all he could think about was their second baby being a complete mini Amy. He wanted a little baby who was a tiny version of his wife, he wanted to go through that rollercoaster all over again with his wife, and he wanted his son to grow up with a sibling, to give him the company Jake had longed for as a child himself. He had seen Amy with her brothers and the bond she shared with all seven, even David, and he couldn’t wait for his own son to be able to have a sibling to share a childhood with. He simply couldn’t wait for a new addition to their family.

Amidst his own thoughts, he didn’t realize when his arm had gone around her shoulder only noticing their proximity when her head was on his shoulder. Looking over, he found her notebook page filled with a grocery list, another page had a bunch of questions he assumed she needed to ask her OBGYN, and in a small corner, he saw a bunch of names he tried to read, but without his glasses, couldn’t see the tiny printing. However, he could see the planner close to him as she scribbled down appointment followed by a question marked on a date for the following week. Looking back at her as she moved on without saying anything to him, he tapped the planner trying to catch her attention.

“Wait, I’m working early on the Tuesday. Wednesday would be so much better; my mom is already doing to watch Mac and then we can drive to work together.”

He did catch her attention, but he wasn’t ready to find the surprised look on her face and she raised her brows as if question what he was talking about. He didn’t know what major thing he had said, but it was enough for her to put her books on the coffee table before turning back to him.

“You…you want to come with me?”

“Of course.” He shrugged wondering why she was so shocked only for her to sit up straight, making him follow suit.

“I just thought…I’ve heard…” She opened her mouth trying to form a sentence only to close it when she looked at him. He looked so confused, so innocently confused that it made her want to hold onto him and keep him away from anything that would take that away. Reaching over, her soft hands held onto his rough ones, a chuckle leaving her lips as she realized how foolish it was of her to consider that he would be any different as time when on.

“It’s just nice that you still want to be there for everything. I know people whose partners are less involved the second time around, especially when it comes to the appointments. It makes sense when someone has to be with the older kid, but…I am glad you’re going to be there.”

As her words came together in his mind, he found himself letting go of a breath he had been unknowingly holding and he rolled his eyes. He couldn’t understand why she had thought he would want to miss out on any part of this amazing journey they were about to go on. But knowing this was something that had clearly been weighing on her mind, he pecked her cheek and opened his arm for her to return to the warm embrace she was in.

“Babe I’m always going to be there. You’ve signed up for a lifetime of this awesomeness.” He spoke into her hair, giving his goofy smile that she adored on him and their son. She didn’t want it any other way, she thought to herself while snuggling into his chest and wrapping her arms around him.

Noticing his parents on the sofa, Mac no longer was interested in the firetruck his father had complained about buying for him, and was climbing up the sofa next to his parent. As Jake took him into his free arm, Mac’s attention was quickly caught by the bright cartoons playing on the screen, his position mirroring his mother’s as he cuddled into his dad’s warmth. Amy, finding no interest in the silly cartoon, wanted to reach over for her crossword on the table, however looking at her husband and son who wore matching expressions on their face while enjoying the television, she didn’t want to move. She watched her boys’ amused faces, admiring her small family as one of her hands reached for her middle, a serene smile appearing on her face.

Their Saturdays were just some things that she knew would never change in their home and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there it is!
> 
> I hope you all liked it!
> 
> If you could leave any feedback or kudos, it would mean so much!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Their Little Bean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first doctor's appointment - they see their little bean and Jake has a moment of spiraling .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thank you so much for all the kudos and comments on the last chapter! <3
> 
> Now onto this chapter - so this only took me a month to update lol! But there was a lot of writing, deleting, and writing again since I couldn't decide what to include and what not to. However, I thought it was time to let it be and I couldn't re-write this chapter yet again.
> 
> So here is the next (unedited) chapter! I hope you all enjoy it and it was somewhat worth all the waiting! <3

Sitting on the examination bed, Amy looked through her list of questions on her phone, making sure she wouldn’t forget to ask her OBGYN anything. She tried to control her nerves and the urge to bite her nails, she glanced over at her husband who was to busy on his phone to be worried about anything. It was one of the reasons she had been so relieved he was joining her since his easy-going attitude even at the doctor’s office kept her sane.

Luckily, she didn’t have to keep her calm for much longer as nurse walked into the room, and suddenly it seemed like their emotions had reversed in an instant. Immediately, Amy had a smile on her face as she talked to the nurse knowing what to say while Jake’s phone was nowhere in sight as he sat up more attentively as the nervous tapping of his foot began.

He smiled whenever either woman looked at him, but his eyes began to dart around the room wanting to look anywhere but towards his wife when a needle was brought out to draw her blood. Amy looked towards Jake, now standing next to her, his face starting to pale as he grimaced at the sight of a tiny needle. Her free left hand open for him to place his hands in, an offer he promptly took as he squeezed his eyes shut. She didn’t know if she wanted to laugh at the detective who worked around bloody crimes frequently or give her adorable yet scared husband a hug. But she did know that the pain of him holding onto her hand for dear life was starting to hurt more than the pinch of the needle that was in her arm. However, knowing it was only for a few more seconds, she let him be remembering he was doing much better than the first time around when he had to step out for a few minutes.

“Jake, it’s all okay. See it’s over.” She leaned in closer, and as he let her hand out of his grip, it was on his arm while she waited for him to open his eyes. Looking back at her, he nervously rubbed the back of his neck realizing he his pregnant wife had to support him while she was the one whose blood was being drawn.

“She’s so brave, huh?” He tried to laugh but felt the blood rushing to his face turning him red when the nurse looked at him, trying to hide her smile at how amusing she found the situation to be.

“And he can stay calm when I’m giving birth in a dirty precinct, but this is just too much for him to handle.” Amy’s voice chimed, following by a giggle while her hand had found its way to his back, a comfort that seemed to ease him out of the embarrassment he was feeling. When she kept smiling at him even after the nurse left them alone to wait once again, he was ready to embarrass himself every time he walked into this clinic as long it made her laugh.

A short while later, they were greeted by Amy’s obstetrician, nerves running through them and feet tapping anxiously while they were waiting to hear that everything was okay with Amy and their baby. The same thoughts were running through their head, thinking about how excited they had seen the other at the news of another child.

It had been just less than two weeks since they had learned of the pregnancy, but they were already impatient to have their baby in their arms. Jake had started a list of baby names on his phone and had plans to convince Amy to choose one of the many Die Hard based names he had thought of. Amy had already started looking through their household trying to figure out what they would need to buy for a new baby and how to make space for another person in their apartment.

They were both brought of their thoughts when the doctor put down Amy’s file and began to roll over a small ultrasound machine that had been tucked into the corner of the room. Their hands joined, the excitement of catching a glimpse of a tiny baby began to outweigh the nervous thoughts that had been engulfing them. Laying back on the exam bed, she lifted up her blouse trying to take a deep breath in preparation for what they would see. She tried to think of the amazed look on Jake’s face every time they had seen Mac on an ultrasound in an attempt to push back the worrisome thoughts of the various things that could go wrong. It worked as a good enough distraction until she felt the cold gel on her stomach.

Trying not to yelp at the sudden cool feeling on her skin, she ended up clutching onto his hand with more strength eliciting a chuckle from him. As the wand of the machine began to move along her middle, she looked up at her husband. His eyes spoke what he couldn’t when they shifted between her and the small screen where they waited for an image to appear. An understanding smile was on his face when he looked at her, a silent assurance that they would be okay no matter what happened, but his eyes couldn’t hide a glint of overjoy whenever he looked at the machine in anticipation of a picture of their baby. What she didn’t know was how her own eyes mirrored his. She looked at him with a nervousness, in fear of something being wrong, but when she followed his eyes towards the blank screen, she had a smile on her face that wasn’t full of worry, but pure eagerness to see their baby.

“We have a very shy baby …right here.” The physician’s voice ended the silence in the room after what felt like hours.

Their eyes focussed on where her finger was pointed, making out a small bean shape on the display. Jake squinted through the lens of his frames while she immediately saw the tiny She let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding onto when the realization that this was not some wild dream she had been having. She was really having another baby. She would be able to give Mac a sibling and the image forming in her mind made her heart swell. She felt her husband’s fingers tightly intertwined with hers while her vision blurred as tears of relief and joy brimmed her eyes. The room fell into a pin drop silence once again when the obstetrician pressed a single button, and the small room was filled with the sound of their baby’s heartbeat. It didn’t take long for their own hearts to feel as if they were ready to pound of their chest, thumping to the beat mimicking the one that bounced in the room.

“Ames…” His whisper was the only sound that would take her attention away from the monitor and sounds that came from it.

It was real. She knew that was the only thing on his mind. She also knew this was going to be one of the rare times she saw tears in Jake’s eyes, more specifically tears of overwhelming joy. She recognized the emotions on his face – ones she had only seen as she walked down the aisle in a wedding dress and when he had heard Mac’s heartbeat for the first time – the tears in his eyes glistened behind his glasses while he was between a smile and a sense of wonder at what was going on. He may have been saying her name, but his eyes and mind could only focus on their little bean (a nickname he was going to use for the next year). If the two women in the room didn’t know about Mac, they may have thought he was experiencing this moment for the first time in his life.

When his eyes finally met hers, the tear that was threatening to fall from the corner of his eye had slipped onto her hand. His breath was held in, his brows slightly raised almost still wondering if they were really having another baby. And when he saw her smiling at him, a faint nod from was all it took for the understanding to wash over his face. As the beauty of their reality sunk in, she knew that with every passing moment, there was someone else his heart had made space for. There was going to be another baby that he was ready to love, cherish and care for.

“Jake it’s our baby.” She spoke so softly he may have missed her words had he not been looking at her.

Her affirmation lit up his face, the curve of his lips growing bigger as they made their way to the top of her head. He briefly let go of her hand, giving her space to get up only to hold back onto her when she got off the bed like she was instructed to do. Standing behind her, he gently ran his free hand through her hair, finger combing the sections that had been tangled when she was laying down. Amy was not one to enjoy PDA, feeling as though she was being watched as her husband’s touch constantly felt so intimate and a personal comfort she didn’t need the world to see. But right now, it didn’t matter whether her doctor’s back was to her or not, she moved back leaning into his arms before walking with him towards the chairs across from the physician.

Jake sat back, a serious and focussed look on his face when Amy pulled out her notebook, knowing he had to stay quiet and listen while his genius wife asked all the questions.

“Well, everything is looking good. But as you know, with your age, there are more chances of this being a high-risk pregnancy. So it would be best if we book in more prenatal appointments and I am going to recommend some different prenatal vitamins you should take.”

He looked over at Amy, knowing this was exactly what they had been told last time. However, in just a few minutes, he felt lost in the room as if he was the only one who didn’t realize Amy’s pregnancy was going to be different this time around.

“ _Risk of loss, genetic testing over 40, preeclampsia…over 40, gestational diabetes…over 40, pre-term delivery…over 40._ ”

Why did she keep repeating over 40? He had learned about everything to with getting pregnant over 35 when they had tried to conceive last time and he understood all the terms that were being thrown around in the conversation. However, the constant emphasis on Amy’s age blurred the conversation and worried him for it seemed like his wife and the obstetrician knew why it was so important, but he didn’t know about the difference 3 years would mean in a pregnancy. He racked his mind trying to think of anything he may have read about the same while staying tuned to the conversation between the two women. But coming up blank, he straightened his back and tried to pay more attention – if that possible – only to create a panic in his own head about what he didn’t know and fear of what he was going to learn when he got a chance to go on the internet and figure out what everyone else seemed to already know.

Before he could decide whether he wanted to speak up and ask a question that was clearly going to be dumb according to everyone else in the room, Amy was getting up and being handed an envelope that he knew contained her sonogram images. His questions would have to be answered by the internet. But for now, as they walked out of the clinic, he was distracted out of his confusion and worries when Amy opened the envelope and pulled out one of two copies of the sonogram. They stood outside of the building gushing over the image, knowing they would have to contain their excitement at work. It was only when Amy felt her stomach twisting and a wave of nausea started to overtake her, that they realized they still had to get to work in peak Brooklyn traffic and couldn’t spend their day looking at a black and white picture. 

~~~~

_Outside the 99th precinct_

Something was wrong with him – she had known that it was stemming doctor’s appointment and she had replayed it in her mind repeatedly. But she still couldn’t figure out what was bothering him. He didn’t seem annoyed or mad, nor was he looking sad. He looked worried, almost as if he was scared which had her more concerned than any other emotion of his.

On the entire drive to work, she knew he wanted to talk, but he was hesitating for some reason. He would look at her, ready to speak only to look back onto the road, thinking she couldn’t notice him from the corner of her eye. Every time she groaned feeling sick and reached for the paper bag she kept in the glovebox, she didn’t miss him clutching onto the steering wheel way too tightly while he tried to be comforting with his words. But now that he was about to get out of their SUV without turning it off, she knew he had to get out whatever was bothering him.

“Jake, is everything okay?” He looked at her puzzled before shaking his head negatively.

“I’m fine. Do you need anything? Water or something to eat? A day off maybe?”

He raised his brows seriously making hers furrow wondering why he thought she needed a day off. It wasn’t said with his usually smirk, but with a concerned look on his face. Pressing the start/stop button of their vehicle, she reached over and grabbed his hand to stop him from leaving the car.

“What’s going on babe? I know you want to say something and you know you can tell me anything.” He sighed leaning back into the driver’s seat before he looked her way.

Rubbing his forehead, he contemplated making up an excuse so that he wouldn’t have to trouble her with fears about things he should have already known. He knew she had already been so stressed about telling him that she might have been pregnant, that he didn’t want to stress her out further. Especially not when she had been close to throwing up at least twice in the last half an hour. He had just listened to how important it was for her to take care of herself while pregnant and the last thing she needed was him to add onto everything she was going through.

“I won’t force you to talk Jake, but I don’t want you to be weighed down by something if you can feel better by sharing it.”

Why did she always understand him? He couldn’t say no to her when he saw her face. If he didn’t speak up now, she would be worrying about what was wrong with him all day even though he never understood why. She was a lieutenant and had a number of more important things to deal with instead of his problems. Feeling her hands rubbing his arm while she waited for him to say something, he knew it was going to stress her out no matter what he did and no matter how much he didn’t want to.

“Ames…I…I shouldn’t be bothering you…but…I’m scared.” He confessed, lowering his eyes.

“Of what?” Her hand cupped his face, finger gliding along his jaw as she waited for him to go on, her heart worrying about what could have scared him.

“Of something going wrong.” She lifted his chin up to meet his eyes and looked at him in confusion of what he thought was going to go wrong. Taking her hand into his, he began to stare at her ring finger while he tried to articulate what was going on his mind.

“I know we had to be more careful because of your age, but I didn’t know there’s so much more that can go wrong. At the doctor’s you already knew about everything going in, but I had no clue. I thought it would be the same as before but hearing all the things the doctor was saying and how to all came back to your age…I’m worried.”

Glancing back at her, he saw her concerned face now shadowed by a frown and he knew she was starting to worry about whether he had changed his mind about the baby.

“Amy, I would love another baby, but not at the cost of anything happening to you.” His voice quivered at the words he was speaking, reflecting the fearful place his mind was taking him to.

If they weren’t in a public parking lot, she would have wrapped him in her arms, away from everything that was bothering him. But right now, all she could do was comfort him with the same honesty that he had shown her.

“Jake…I was scared too.”

“You were?” She smiled slightly when his voice had his normal tone for a moment. She nodded assuring him that his fears weren’t unwarranted, and it was okay to be scared.

“Every day for the first few months I was pregnant with Mac, I didn’t want to let myself believe it was real. I didn’t want to imagine having a baby because I was so scared that I wasn’t going to be able to carry the baby, especially because of how long it took to actually get pregnant. But you know how I managed to believe it and enjoy that time?”

An innocent shrug came from and she smiled thinking about her last pregnancy and the excitement Jake had over everything.

“Because of you Jake. You were always so positive and happy about everything, wanting to plan everything out even before we were sure the pregnancy would stay, that I started to think that we would have a baby.”

He lowered his head, his nervous habit of rubbing his neck appearing as she acknowledged his role in helping her believe their family would grow when she lost hope.

“I guess I just wish I knew about everything before. It just felt like so much information in one sitting and I wasn’t prepared for any of it.” He shrugged again, eyes glued to the ground, feeling as though he should have known better, but he couldn’t control how his mind took him to the worst possible conclusion. He tried to look up at her as he continued.

“All I could think of when I heard everything was how great the chances were that we would lose the baby and worse than that, how harmful it could be for you. I didn’t want either of those things to happen and I know you know how to take care of our baby, and yourself. But I don’t know…” His eyes lowered again, this time to hide from his wife, knowing if he looked at her, he wouldn’t be able to stop his tears. His trembling voice barely spoke out the reason he was so tense.

“We can always have another baby, but if anything happened to you…how will I get another Amy?”

It didn’t matter where they were anymore. Inching closer to his seat, she encased him with her arms, mumbling how it was okay when he rested his head onto her chest. 

“Hey, hey, stop thinking like that. Nothing is going to happen to me Jake.” She kept mumbling to him in the soft voice she used to comfort her son after a nightmare. He tried to hold back the tears as she ran her hands through his hair, just like she would for Mac while attempting to assure him she was going to fine.

“Jake, I had Mac at 38, without any complications even after giving birth at a police precinct of all places. And now, I’m naturally pregnant at 40, which is something I’m going be happy about no matter what. Babe, even the doctor isn’t worried about me, she told us everything as a warning in case something does go wrong. It doesn’t mean you immediately think the worst is going to happen. I take care of myself and did you not hear her say that I am healthy for my age?”

She separated him from herself for a moment, waiting for his answer and he meekly spoke up.

“I don’t need her to tell me, I already knew that.”

“Then why are you so worried?” She brushed his curl away from his face while he shrugged again, realizing he may have spiralled at the chance that Amy would have a hard time during her pregnancy.

“The whole conversation scared me. I honestly can’t imagine…” His words trailed off to avoid repeating his earlier words, and gave him an understanding smile before she took his left hand and ran her fingers over his wedding band.

“You’re stuck with me Jake Peralta. As a very smart detective once pointed out, you’ve signed up for a lifetime of this awesomeness. Okay?” He let out a chuckle, a shy smile staying on his face.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes that way it normally did and she wished she there was anything beyond her words that could help him with the fears his mind was harbouring.

“I’m going to be fine and so will our baby. I am going to explain everything the doctor said when we get home today. If you still are worried, then we can call the doctor with all your questions, and we will keep looking into everything until you’re sure that it’ll be okay.”

She made it sound simple like she did with everything else. She always knew what to say to make him feel like this world was perfect, like there was no problem that they couldn’t handle. Yet it still took him a moment. She patiently waited for him to take in what she had suggested, knowing very well it was exactly 9 and she should be at her desk right now. But in this moment, Jake took precedence over everything else around her including the queasy feeling in her stomach.

He smiled and she sent out a silent thank you to the universe.

“I believe you Ames. But can you still tell me what to look at so I can understand everything? That’s probably better than leaving me to the internet for medical advice.” She nodded, and immediately reached into her purse, pulling out her notebook. Taking his bag from the back seat, she placed her prized possession into the bag knowing he would finish reading it all before lunch came around. Handing him his bag, she kept a hand on his leg, stopping him leaving the vehicle once again.

“I just wished you had told me right away babe, right at the appointment…I can’t believe you’re having such horrible thoughts. Promise me you will talk to me Jake.” He leaned in closer to her, placing a kiss on her forehead like he did whenever he made her a promise he intended to keep.

“I promise. Don’t worry so much babe.”

“You’re telling me?”

She giggled and earned a laugh from him, the first that morning and she knew he would be okay. Meanwhile if she thought they were going to be okay, his heart was ready to believe everything would be just fine. He knew she wasn’t excited about being late to work, but he couldn’t stop himself from moving himself closer to her, touching their foreheads together. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath while her hand reached his jaw as it always did letting him take all the time he needed before heading into work. She didn’t know and to her own surprise wasn’t worried about how much time she had let pass before he moved back from her. All she did was join their lips for a few seconds, a silent assurance of everything they had talked about.

~~~~

At 9:07 am, Amy and Jake were alone, on the elevator up to her floor, hands held because rules about PDA didn’t matter today. Until she suddenly remembered there was one thing she could do to cheer up her husband who was already sounding more like himself on their way to the building. Letting go of his hand, she pulled out her phone and opened a pregnancy app that had been untouched since Mac was born. Typing in the date that was now itched into her mind, she waited for a notification to appear on his phone from their synced app. Hearing the notification sound of his phone as the elevator reached her floor, she walked off the elevator before turning back to see the animated excitement on his face as he looked at his notification.

_8 Weeks – Your baby is the size of a raspberry._

She winked at him knowing he was going to have a fun time trying to contain his eagerness to tell everyone about the baby, but more specifically the comparison of their baby’s size to fruit. He would have to make do with trying to imagine how the little bean on the sonogram – that was now housed in the inside pocket of his leather jacket – was possible the size of a tiny raspberry.

When she sat down at her desk with a smile, the uniformed officers of the nine-nine looked at each other in surprise. It was one of the only days Amy Santiago would arrive a full 7 minutes late to work, but the only time where she didn’t care; her adorable husband and their little bean was worth it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was all I have for this chapter! I do apologize for the lack of Mac in this one!  
> But I hope you all enjoyed it! All kudos and feedback are highly appreciated!  
> Thank you so much for reading! :)


	4. Up All Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake has been working overtime and wants to sleep.  
> Amy is a pregnant lieutenant with a toddler and wants to sleep.  
> But sleep doesn't come easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thank you for all the love on the last chapter! 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this one as well!
> 
> Also a TW - there are mentions of throwing up in this chapter.

Dragging his feet to the front door of their home, Jake reached into his trusty worn out messenger bag to fumble around for his keys. The exhaustion of working overtime for the last three days was starting to catch up with him as he yawned while opening the door. To his dismay, the home was quiet and he feared he had missed Mac’s bedtime – something he hadn’t done ever since they had established an evening routine for their toddler. Slowly and quietly removing his leather jacket, shows and bag, he looked down at his watch, feeling he had lost his sense of time if he had missed bedtime.

Brows furrowed when he realized it was too early for both his wife and son to be asleep, and he sighed regretfully knowing Amy had been feeling sick all the time, working a tiring job, and now taking care of their toddler alone for the last few days. He shouldn’t have been surprised if she had already been sleeping, and couldn’t help but feel disheartened that he had not been helping her out as much as he would have wanted to. As if on cue, he heard the running of his son against the hardboard floor and before he could kneel down to hug Mac, two tiny arms going around his leg, and bringing a wide smile on his exhausted face.

“Dadda!”

Mac clung onto his leg and looked up at him excitedly as if he hadn’t seen his dad in ages. It didn’t matter if he had been a dad for over 3 years, but there was something about coming home – to his son, to Amy, to a family that waited for him and wanted him to be home – that consumed his heart. There was no more eyes closed, head first because there was so much to lose now. His life was no longer just work, his dreams no longer limited to crazy cases, but it was now being greeted by his kid and sleeping next to his wife and his dreams filled with their happiness.

And picking his toddler up in his arms, he knew he wouldn’t have it any other way. Mac wrapped his arms around his dad’s neck, Jake instinctively pulled took him into a hug and the smell of children’s shampoo overpowered him when he nuzzled his nose against his son’s head. Kissing Mac’s cheek softly, he moved down the hallway into the living room in search of his wife while his son’s head found its way to the crook of Jake’s neck and nestled comfortable as if it were meant for him. Unable to find Amy in the living room or kitchen, he turned to his son wondering if Amy wasn’t feeling well again.

“Macadoodle, where’s your mom?” He ran his hand over Mac’s hair, rocking his baby gently when the child pointed towards their bedroom.

Walking in, he saw the slit of light coming from their bathroom and his heart went out to Amy when she walked out into the bedroom a few moments later. Dressed in his sweatpants and large grey sweater, he knew she was having a rough day when he saw how unbothered she was by the strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail as she came up to him. But she put up a genuine smile relieved he was home, and her droopy eyes – desperately in need of sleep – lit up when she stood before him. 

“Here’s momma…”

Jake put his arm around her shoulder before leaning in for a quick yet warm kiss on her lips, almost able to taste the mouthwash she had just used as he parted back. She was definitely dealing with “not limited to the morning” morning sickness. He looked at her sympathetically, wishing he could take away everything she was going through, and regretting taking on the responsibility of a big case when he could have been helping her instead. However, knowing exactly what her husband was thinking, Amy rubbed her thumb over his forearms in silent assurance that everything was alright, that she was alright. Their soundless exchange was broken by their son who watched his dad kiss his mom’s forehead and the two smiling at each other, making his head perk up.

“Wanna kiss too!”

Catching his parent’s attention with his momentary energy, the parents chuckled before Jake looked at their demanding toddler and then to Amy.

“Hmm momma what you do you say? Time for a Mac attack?”

Knowing exactly what those words meant both Amy and Mac began to giggle when their baby was sandwiched between his parents as they both kissed one of his cheeks. Jake, seeing their excitement, took the opportunity and began to tickle Mac’s side knowing he would be able to get laughs from both his son and tired wife. Continuing until the toddler was yelping at him to stop in between laughs, he stopped slowly and looked over at Amy whose laughter had turned into a grateful teary smile. A small part of his guilt lifted seeing he was able to the least and make her laugh.

Their attention went back to Mac when they heard his laughter stop and turn into a yawn as he nestled himself back into Jake, hand clutching onto the collar of his dad’s plaid shirt while his eyes start struggling to stay awake. Patting the child’s head, Jake mumbled quietly towards Amy.

“Looks like it’s definitely bedtime, isn’t it?”

Jake kept his hand on Mac’s head and slowly started to make his way out of the bed making Amy shake her head. She had seen him skipping his lunch break earlier in the day, a pattern that had continued since the last few days, and the weight of the case was visible in his disheveled appearance – his hair more unkempt than usual, the dark circle under his eyes representative of his lack of sleep, and slumped shoulders – had her worried. She also knew whenever Jake put Mac down for bed, it took twice as long as it should since the two of them had the wildest imagination possible, stretching bedtime stories much longer than needed to. With her mom mode kicking in, she stopped Jake and opened her arms for Mac. Before he could protest, Jake saw her stern expression that made him and his son obedient instantly, and when Amy raised her brows, he rolled his eyes as he carefully placed Mac into her arms. She didn’t miss his hand pausing at her middle for a moment before he moved back and had to rub the back of his neck embarrassed when his stomach growled in hunger.

“And now it’s dinner time for dad. Mac helped with tonight’s menu.” She tried to be subtle with how serious she was, but he raised his hands knowing she was not joking at all.

“Noonles for dadda…” Mac mumbled half asleep, making his mother smile remembering how excitement the three-year-old was when she let him stir a pot and taste test the spaghetti she had recently perfected.

“How can I say no to that? It sounds delicious!” He tried not to gush like a proud dad but couldn’t help grinning at how adorable his son was. And his animated smile would have made it hard for anyone to tell how overworked he was, but Amy knew he was going to pass out the moment he hit the bed tonight.

“Nighty dadda…” Mac yawned in his mom’s embrace, the hand that held onto Jake’s shirt now clutching Amy’s necklace while he cuddled into his mom’s warmth, ready to be tucked into bed.

“Good night buddy.” Placing a kiss on son’s forehead, Jake watched Amy slowly move towards the hallway and Mac’s bedroom, overhearing the whispered conversation between the two as picked up his pajamas, heading for the shower to wash away the long day he had.

“I wanna story…pwease.”

“Of course sweetheart, how about a story about an amazing little boy who became a big brother?”

How did he end up with someone so perfect? Jake wondered, realizing Amy had already begun preparing to break the news of a sibling to Mac while the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. But it was going to be all okay, because Amy was here with him.

~~~~

Carefully adjusting Mac’s blanket covering him till his chin, Amy sat on the edge of the bed watching him hugging onto his Ninja Turtle plush. A part of her was slightly relieved her son had been taking all the bedtime stories about siblings well, giving her hope he would be happy to be a big brother, and for now she didn’t want to think about what she would do if he didn’t take the news well. Sitting on the soft mattress, she didn’t want to get up instead wishing she could just lay down next to the sleeping child and close her eyes. But it seemed like her other baby didn’t agree so much, her stomach suddenly turning again and she found herself rushing out of the room, not wanting to disturb Mac’s sleep. She stood in the bathroom, feeling as though an hour had passed (it had only been 5 minutes) and the queasiness in her stomach started to settle making her want to cry.

She woke up with this very uncomfortable feeling of sickness every morning ruining her sleep, she was irritated when Jake was enjoying his coffee while trying to stay out of her way as the smell of the caffeine filled drink filled their house, she always felt tired three hours into her work shifts, and someone always had to bring in a strong-smelling lunch making it more difficult to hide her pregnancy in a building full of detectives. She knew she was going to be feeling sick and tired, she had been through, but she didn’t know how much harder it was going to be this time around. She wasn’t even three months pregnant and to skip over to the part where she had the baby already. But alas, she knew she had to power through it.

And she knew it would be slightly easier now that Jake had closed his big case and would be able to take care of Mac, something she had wanted so bad but understood was difficult this past week. She understood he would have dropped everything if she had complained about how she felt like she couldn’t keep up with every single responsibility she had. But she also knew how much terrible he would have felt had she told him she felt overwhelmed, and he didn’t need her making him feel worse than he already was. Splashing water on her face, she took in a deep breath knowing from tomorrow on, Jake would be able to help around the house even more. His case was closed and it was all going back to their normal planned schedules. Jake was going to be with her and it would all be okay.

Stepping out of the bathroom, she saw him nowhere and headed into the kitchen to warm up the leftovers for him, knowing he wouldn’t bother to do the same himself. Setting down two plates of spaghetti for them, she was momentarily startled by his voice behind her.

“Hey, you didn’t have to do this. Did you know you can eat cold pasta and pasta salads are a thing?! I mean I could eat salad for days if it was all pasta.”

She rolled her eyes at her husband’s amusement of his new discoveries as she took a seat, handing him a fork as he followed her. As he dug into his food, he realized how hungry he actually was, having only had multiple cups of coffee and a bagel all day, but paused taking a large bit when he saw her quietly swirling the pasta in her plate. Looking at her with concern that she hadn’t eaten her dinner this late, she shrugged explaining herself.

“I was going to throw up 5 minutes ago and now I’m hungry again. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ve given up on controlling myself.” They shared a laugh before his face lit up with a brilliant idea.

“Does that mean I can have powdered donuts for breakfast again?” Her smile immediately disappeared as she looked at him dead serious.

“No Jake, that will never happen again.” She shuddered remembering the last time he had the powdered donuts in the morning, which ended up Jake, Mac, Mac’s high chair and kitchen floor covered in powdered sugar. Jake also seemed to remember the same incident and immediately focussed back on his plate knowing it was better to leave his wife smiling rather than thinking about the time he “Jaked” up their kitchen.

Finishing up his dinner in record time while listen to narrate how Mac would end up being a better chef than the two of them, he stopped her from picking up their empty plates. Carrying them himself, he began to wash the dishes while Amy took over the drying, wanting to get into bed with him as quickly as possible. 

“Hey, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. For not being around enough this week.” He handed her a clean plate while she shrugged, carefully inspecting the plate was perfectly clean.

“It’s okay babe, you have to do your job.”

“I know that, but I also know you’re not feeling the best and you didn’t need the extra responsibilities at home. I promise I won’t take on any big cases like this for some time. I’m not letting this happen again.” He handed her the last of their dishes and looked down at the soap suds covering his hands, refusing to meet her eyes feeling horrible for not spending enough time with her and Mac.

“You don’t have to do that, you are already doing your best and that’s all I can ask for.” She quickly dried her hands and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“You already have enough on your plate Amy, this wasn’t the time for me to be taking on all this overtime.” He mumbled, annoyed with himself as he tried to clean the sink carefully yet quickly. She waited until he was finished before she turned him to face her, doing her best not to give away how adorable she found him when he was sulking.

“Jake, it’s really okay. It was a lot, but I managed and now everything will go back to our normal routine. And look on the bright side, I got to spend so much time with Mac and you got in so many overtime hours, which we both know we need right now. But if you feel that bad, I guess you can make it up to me if you’d like.” She smirked at the end and his head shot up immediately at the idea of doing something for her.

“How? I’ll do anything.” She crossed her arms and raised her brows wondering if he was sure while he eagerly waited for her to give him anything to do.

“You have to work through all the tantrums until the baby is here, maybe even longer.” His brows scrunched in confusion before he scoffed and step closer to her, his arms resting on her shoulder as his hands joined behind her neck.

“That’s no problem. You have raised an angel, or I guess it’s my brilliant genes, because you do say he’s my mini-me and you think that’s amazing.” He boasted about their son with a wide smile on his face while the smirk on her face refused to leave as she shrugged.

“Candy aisle in the grocery store.”

She encircled her arms around his waist, smiling proudly when his smile immediately disappeared. His head lowered as he sighed deeply. Why did his son pick up on his eating habits? He looked back up at Amy, trying to put up his serious – which was still a raised eyebrow – as he placed his hand on his chest.

“Well I accept this impossible mission. Just for you.” She let out a laugh as they turned off all the light and headed to their bedroom. Only Jake Peralta could make her laugh after the long she had.

~~~~

Jake yawned yet again as he watched his wife focussed on applying moisturizer to her arms and legs. He stayed sitting up in bed, knowing if he put his head down, he wouldn’t be able to stay awake for long.

“Ames, hurry up.” He groaned impatiently when Amy sat on her side of the bed, double checking all her alarms were set. Turning back to Jake with a surprised look on her face, Amy shook her head when a yawn escaped her.

“Jake you know I am not in the mood for anything besides sleep tonight.”

“Amy, I just want to cuddle and sleep. I am way too tired for sexy timez.” He opened his arms for her with a smile as she slipped under the blanket before a realization hit him and he looked up at Amy shocked and terrified.

“Oh no! Too tired for sexy timez? Are we becoming an old couple?”

The horrified look on his face made it hard for her to not laugh as she pretended to think about his question, debating whether to point out the greys that were starting to appear on the side of his hair. Deciding she wanted to save that conversation for another day, when she was wide awake and ready to enjoy his reactions, she lay down in bed before reassuring him. 

“I like to think we’re doing just fine. This bean of yours didn’t just come out nowhere.” The mention of the baby made his face beam and Jake mimicked his son with a sudden rush of energy when he reached for his phone on the night stand and proudly showed the latest baby update to his wife.

_11 Weeks – Your baby is the size of a lime_

“The bean is a lime now. Apparently that’s different from a being a lemon.” He proudly told her as he put his phone away, turning of the bedside lamp and reverting his attention back to his wife whose back he was facing now.

“Wow you are full of fun facts today. I love it.” She turned back for a peck on her lips before adjusting herself to fit into his arms.

“And I love you.” He mumbled into her hair as they were both half asleep already.

Jake was always little spoon and it was the one thing he wouldn’t ever give up, except when Amy wasn’t feeling great or when she was pregnant as she had learned three years ago. She wouldn’t ever tell him, but they both know she was more than happy to be tucked into the warmth of his arms and legs when he wrapped them around her, especially with the January cold currently filling up their apartment. She tried to joke when he would cup her slightly rounded stomach, comparing it to his “burrito baby”, but deep down it gave a sense of comfort that allowed her sleep with a faint smile on her face. And she was ready to enjoy it for as long as it lasted.

_Midnight_

Barely three hours into her sleep, Amy felt herself returning to consciousness with that sick queasy turning of her stomach. She held back a groan of frustration hearing Jake’s light snoring right by her ear. Maybe it would pass if she just stayed in bed and tried to go back to sleep, at least that’s what she was hoping. However, it didn’t take more than a minute for her to realize she needed to get into their bathroom. Trying her best to not wake up her sleeping husband who was definitely not sleeping enough for a few days, she was in the middle of moving his arm away from her when her gag reflex had kicked in and she instantly pushed Jake away from herself.

He was jolted awake when he felt like he was being pushed away. Barely registering what had just happened, he was about to drift back to sleep when cool air replaced the warmth of where his wife was and he realized her absence. Yawning loudly, he tried to make out where Amy was in the dark while grasping at his bed side table for his glasses. His drowsy form was instantly transformed into a state of worry when he saw the light of their bathroom turn on and heard the familiar sound of his wife on the verge of throwing up.

Rushing into the bathroom, his expression turned soft and sympathetic seeing his pregnant wife hunched over the toilet, trying to hold back tears and her hair as she struggled to relieve herself of the nausea that felt like a burden on her body. Without a word, he kneeled down on both knees next to her, one hand trying to gently pry her hair away from her face while the one was rubbing circles on her back whenever she moved forward thinking she would throw up. As the sound of retching echoed in their bathroom turned into Amy’s sniffles on her inability to throw up so she could get back sleeping that she desperately needed and wanted.

Ten minutes later, she was leaning back against his chest, tears streaking down her face while Jake was carefully putting her messy hair back into a ponytail as best as he could. She tried to hold herself back from crying feeling like a mess already as she leaned forward gagging once again. However, when his hand refused to move away from rubbing her back and he wiped her tears away ignoring her runny nose, she couldn’t hold back her sobs. Resting her head on his chest, she felt him running his hand over her head, and she didn’t realize when she had clutched onto his Die Hard tee.

“Shh…it’s okay Ames. It’s okay…you’re okay.”

He repeatedly whispered to her, trying to calm her down knowing if she was going to make herself feel worse if she continued to cry. Embraced in a hug on their bathroom floor in the middle of the night, Amy felt horrible not only because her nausea but because she saw the fatigue on Jake’s face.

“I wish I could just throw up and it would be over with.” She mumbled and tried to explain only for him to place his lips on her forehead shushing her.

“I know, and I wish I could do something to help.” Feeling his cheek against the top of her head, she closed her eyes trying to swallow back the twisted feeling in her stomach. They sat together, letting a few minutes pass in silence before she thought she heard him snore. She looked up at him and seeing his eyes closed she felt the hot tears forming once again, only worsening when she moved away from him and his head jerked forward waking him from his momentarily rest.

“Go back to bed.”

“Only when you’re coming too.”

She pouted in disagreement and shook her before she found herself moving towards the toilet in one swift move. He was right behind her, as she finally emptied her stomach of her dinner, feeling as though some weight had been lifted off of her, yet her eyes still filling up when it was finally over…for the time being. Taking a deep breath when she was finally free of the gross feeling inside of her, she took his outstretched hand letting Jake help her up. She didn’t know how hard she had held onto his hand until he had to tell her to let go of him.

“I’m just going to bring you some water.”

He smiled softly while bringing up their joined hands making her let go of him before turning to wash up. Walking back into their room, Amy felt any bit of energy left in her leaving her body as she sat onto the bed. Ready to lay down, a hand on her shoulder stopped her and she found him glass of water in front of her, waiting for her to hydrate herself. Knowing he wasn’t giving her an option, she slowly sipped on the water, silently watching Jake leave the room once again. When he returned, he placed a bin on her floor next to the bed and a filled water bottle on her nightstand for her earning a quiet thank you from her. Feeling beat from the last half hour, she tried not to let any more tears leave her eyes when she lay down and closed her eyes, the last thing she felt was Jake covering her with a blanket and his hand patting her head, slowly lulling her to sleep.

Jake sat up in bed, caressing her hair cautiously until he saw her breathing even out and was assured she was in a slumber. Carefully getting under the covers himself, trying to not move her in any way, his heart went out to his wife as he watched her finally sleeping peacefully. She looked like a child hidden under the comforter all the while he knew she was a tired mom and lieutenant who was pregnant and could sleep for the next day after the ordeal she had just been through. If only he had the ability to make that possible, but alas all he could do was hope she could sleep through the rest of the night without being disturbed.

_2:28 am_

It just wasn’t their day, err night. He was woken up again with a similar sound and found Amy clutching onto the bin he had brought her. Sitting up immediately and turning on a lamp to bring light into the room, he saw her pale face for a moment before threw up whatever water she had sipped on earlier.

“Go back to sleep Jake.” She managed to put the words together in between gagging into the bin.

“You know that’s not happening.”

He thought he saw her lips curve upwards but brushed it off as his sleepy delirious self imagining things as he got out of bed. Bringing back a wet wipe, mouthwash, and more water for her, he exchanged it for the bin. She opened her mouth to protest, not wanting him to deal with the disgusting outcome of her nausea, but he didn’t let her get a word in before leaving their room.

Returning with a clean bin, he found her sitting up in bed with her hands buried in her palms. A surge of worry filled him and he found himself sitting in front of her, reaching over to touch her shoulder as if she was a fragile doll.

“I’m so tired.” She whimpered in her exhausted voice while he tucked her into bed once again. 

“I know babe. You’re growing a baby, and that’s the most tiring thing a person can do.” He whispered and kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger on her skin for longer than he needed to. He took his place, sitting next to her and rested his head against the bed board for a moment as he watched her sleep, making sure she was comfortable. He thought he would close just for a second, only to doze off in the same sitting position with a gentle hand on the top of her head.

_3:12 am_

She wished she could give him everything he ever wanted, she thought to herself as she found herself waking up, hugging onto his leg. She slowly sat up and debated whether she wanted to wake him up and asked him to lay down properly or if it was better to let him be. Contemplating for a few minutes, she gently tapped his shoulder knowing he was going to be in a grumpy mood tomorrow if his neck was bothering him.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered to him when he slowly woke up and winced at the consequences of resting his neck on wood.

“Ames, you have nothing to be sorry for.” He whispered, and she noticed his voice was sounding deeper as the night went on. She knew it was better if one of them had a proper night’s sleep – at least what was left of it – rather than both of them staying up and suffering.

“I might feel sick again. You should go sleep with Mac.” He patted her pillow gesturing her to get back into bed before doing the same, rubbing his neck as a yawn left him once again.

“Not leaving you.” He managed to mumble before closing his eyes and she knew she wouldn’t be able to convince him otherwise. A smile of gratefulness appeared on her face before she got back into bed, not realizing it was the first time she got that morning without the nausea taking over.

_3:30 am_

His leg slowly moved on top of hers and his arm wrapped around her waist, hand resting on her slightly protruding stomach. Half asleep, she moved back towards him, falling back to the comfort of his arms that she had been in at the beginning of the night.

“I love you.” She murmured thinking he was fast asleep and not expecting a reply.

“I love you too.”

With closed eyes and a smile, they were finally able to get in the sleep they desperately needed.

_7:00 am_

Their alarm clock blared through the room, the couple groaned as they separately from each other. While Amy sat up yawning, Jake turned over in bed and covered his head with his pillow in an attempt block out the noise. She smiled hitting the snooze button for him as she padded towards the bathroom, getting a head start on her morning and with the intention of making his coffee for him.

He really hated mornings, he groaned to himself when the alarm went off once again, knowing he had no choice but to get up. Rubbing his eyes – looking just like Mac did in the mornings – he could feel Amy’s fingers running through his hair and leaned towards her direction under he was resting his head on her chest.

“Good morning babe.”

“Why is it morning already?” He complained, his voice rough with fatigue, while she tried to fix his unruly curls letting him relax against her.

Eventually, he moved back and managed to adjust his eyes to the bright morning. Slipping on his glasses, he looked at Amy who was busy putting together her outfit for the day. Noticing the bags under her eyes and how she was walking slower than normal, he couldn’t stop the words from leaving his mouth.

“Do you want to call in sick today? I’ll drop Mac at day care and you could get some more sleep.”

“You know I need to save sick days for after the baby. And anyways, I feel fine right now.” She picked off a piece of lint from her pants and shrugged, leaving him mentally ranting about her valid reason and their country’s maternity leave as he got up.

“Okay, you know best. But you should at least your doctor about last night because you were never that sick with Mac.” He walked up next to her, casually picking up a plaid shirt and hoodie. Pressing her hand on top of him, she reassured him knowing the real cause of her sickness was her out of order meal and sleep schedule.

“If it happens again, I will for sure. But until then, don’t worry about it.” Placing a kiss on his cheek, she left him to get ready for the day.

~~~~

Following the smell of sweet caffeine, he walked into their kitchen, mindlessly picking up the “Best Dad” mug full of hot coffee. As he added his creamer into the coffee, too tired to sing his usual coffee song, he suddenly smelled something else in the kitchen. His brows furrowed together wondering if he was so sleep deprived that he was imagining something so crazy. But he knew he recognized that faint smell anywhere and it immediately had him wide awake.

He looked back at his wife whose back was turned to him before he walked up to her.

He could not believe his eyes. A squeal of excitement almost left him as he looked at his wife, face stuffed with a powdered donut while she held another one in her hand. She put up an embarrassed, awkward smile at being caught unable to control the sudden urge to eat a sweet sticky treat.

“Amy Santiago! Are my eyes lying to my brain right now?”

“Want one?” She forwarded one to him.

“Do I ever?! Best breakfast ever!” She laughed as she placed the donut in his mouth, tapping the excess powder on his nose. Amy knew it wasn’t the best idea since he put powdered sugar on her cheek instantly, and she hadn’t even glanced at her counter, but right now she was enjoying breakfast with her husband.

They may have had one of the longest nights they’d had in a while, but waking up to powdered donuts for breakfast made it easier to start the day ahead of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all I have for now!
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed reading it!
> 
> All and any kudos & feedback are appreciated! <3


	5. Big Brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Mac moments!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks for liking and all the lovely comments on the last chapter!
> 
> It's currently finals seasons and 3:30 am but this chapter is finally done (unlike my paper due in a few hours)! It's also the reason this chapter is not carefully edited like most of my writing here, so feel free to let me know if there are any errors! :)
> 
> Anyways, enough rambling! I really hope you all enjoy reading this! :)

The elevator dinged announcing Jake’s arrival at the first floor. Walking out carrying a large hot chocolate with from her favourite cafe and the cookies Amy couldn’t resist this week, he was met with glares from everyone who worked with his wife. Keeping his head lowered until he made it to his wife’s desk, Jake placed the treats down and took an unwelcome seat, hoping Amy would show up soon and he would be freed from the glare Gary was giving from a few desks down.

As the minutes of their lunch break they always tried to take together passed, he ended up placing his head between the palms of his hands, the nervousness to face her after what he did today was building up the longer she took. Why didn’t he just stayed quiet instead of letting his unfiltered thoughts out this morning?

_Earlier that day_

Arm in arm and trying to keep their eyes open as they walked into the building, Amy tried her hardest to not lean onto Jake’s shoulder knowing she would want to sleep. Stifling yawns as they stepped onto the elevator, he chugged the last bit of his large coffee, the smell of the dark roast filling up the confined space while Amy glared at him as they reached the first floor.

“I hate you and your stupid coffee.” She scowled at him, only for him to slowly move his empty coffee cup away from her trying not to adore the way her nose scrunched in annoyance.

“Yep, love you too.” He yelled out as she stepped off onto her floor, her sleep deprivation letting him getting a glimpse of her smile as she shook her head at the attention they had gotten because of him.

Reaching the fourth floor himself, he beelined towards the breakroom before anything else, throwing his empty paper cup into the garbage before grabbing his mug to fill up with more magical caffeine. Unaware of Terry sitting at a table behind him, Jake didn’t try to hide how tired he was. Yawning and rubbing his eyes behind the lenses that helped him see, he almost jumped and slipped his coffee when the older man approached him.

“Wow rough night Peralta?”

When Jake turned to face Terry, it was obvious the former had not slept or was extremely hungover; but everyone knew nowadays Jake would look for reasons to go home instead of jumping at any chance to go hang out a bar. The unshaved face and glasses instead of his contacts was an easy give away that Jake would be glued to his computer, and would only be making trips for coffee all day. 

“I don’t know how you do it with three kids Terry, I won’t be able to handle two.”

The words mumbled out of his mouth before his brain could stop itself and come up with an excuse. However, a split second later he ran his hand over his face realizing messed up big time and Amy was not going to be happy, immediately bringing alertness to him and his tone becoming loud enough to echo in the bullpen.

“Handle a three-year-old! I can’t even handle one three-year-old. Kids are hard work guys!”

He tried to put up a laugh, but he could hear how phony it was and hurried out of the breakroom only to feel Terry’s confused glare on him as he sat down on his desk. Gulping down the coffee in his mug, he pulled out his phone, too worried about Terry catching onto their secret to take a moment and smile at the wallpaper of his wife and son cuddled together while busy in an animated conversation.

_Jake: Hey Ames…. love you! I hope you’re having an amazing morning!_

_Ames: What did you do Jake?_

_Jake: Nothing, but do you think we should tell the squad soon? They’re so good at figuring stuff out, they might find out._

_Ames: What did you say to them?_

_Jake: I might have said something about having two kids. But I think I covered it well!_

_Jake: Amy?_

_Jake: Babe?_

_Jake: Hello?_

_Jake: Amesssss…say something._

And that’s how he found himself anxiously waiting for Amy, ready to face her anger on letting out their big news when she didn’t want to share it with anyone until later on, just like with Mac. He wished he could have taken back what he said, knowing exactly how worried she was previously about not being good at making babies and later carrying the baby they felt like they had waited forever for. It wasn’t as if Amy enjoyed walking about with large boxes or newspapers, but it had seemed easier to do the extreme to hide her pregnancy than telling people and having something go wrong. They had been grateful for Mac since the moment Amy had taken that positive pregnancy test after all those negative ones, but it had been so surreal; like a dream that they feared they would be woken from, that they didn’t want to share if it was in fact just a dream. He had watched her taking test after test to make sure she was really pregnant, refusing to believe they were going to have a baby until she was 12 weeks along and even then, worrying about something going wrong and putting off telling people.

This time around, they had decided to keep it between themselves for similar reasons, with their worry about reaching at least 12 weeks before they even wanted to consider telling everyone. They hadn’t decided when they wanted to start sharing the news, but there was no way she was ready for all their friends to know so soon. And she was going to be rightfully upset that he couldn’t keep their most important secret.

He sighed again, looking at the time and realizing his break was about to end soon. He tried to message her again, only to get no response, instead, receiving a message from the captain about an error on the report he had just submitted. Picking up a notepad from her desk, he wrote an “I love you” in writing he hoped she would be able to read by now before he looked around the floor once again. Not seeing her anywhere, he resigned and made his way back up to his desk, knowing very well he wasn’t going to be able to concentrate on anything until he talked to her.

~~~~~

Amy would never get enough of the sight that was before her. She could almost feel the tension of a chaotic workday physically leaving as she quietly approached their living room and her lips curved upwards without a warning. Sitting on the floor against the couch with Mac on his lap, Jake was busy animatedly reading a picture book; a talent involving make grand gestures and expressions that captured the toddler’s attention and earned him many laughs. With a blanket thrown over Jake’s shoulder, the duo looked cocooned together in their matching pajamas as Mac pointed out the various animals in the book which led to Jake asking him about animal sounds. She felt a warmth in her chest trying hardest to stay quiet and not interrupt the scene before her , needing to cherish the moments that encompassed her. adoring the way Mac tried to roar in a scary tone like a lion, only to make both his parents want to cuddle him and wish he would never grow up. However, she couldn’t stop herself from walking up to the two people that mattered the most, when Jake pretended to be terrified of their toddler only for the two of them to end up laughing and she watched her husband kiss the top of their son’s head.

The father and son were brought out of their own world when she approached them, kneeling next to them. Neither parent thought it was possible for Mac’s face to light up more than it did at story time with his dad, but as soon as he saw his mother, he resembled his dad – excitement to see Amy clear as day. Opening his arms for his mom, Jake let go of the toddler and she found herself engulfed in a warm hug from Mac before she could even say a word. As he returned to his dad’s lap, her eyes finally met Jake’s that were nervously waiting for her to say something, still worried about what had happened earlier in the day.

“Heyyyy…”

Anyone who knew Jake would recognize his nervous voice anywhere. She would have laughed at how much he looked like he might cry if she didn’t say anything, but she knew he had probably spent the day worrying about what he might have done. They definitely needed to talk about when they were planning to announce this pregnancy, but for now, she just wanted to sit down with him and Mac without worrying about the various things on her mind. She tried to silently convey her need to Jake as she gave him a tired smile. Luckily for her, being with someone for over 6 years made it easy to understand what the other person’s face was saying, and he nodded his head in the slightest. She could see the relief wash over his face when he didn’t see the annoyance he had expected on her face and understood their talk could wait.

“Can I join?” She tapped Mac’s shoulder who looked up at Jake, the two of sharing their own secret expressions that she didn’t understand as if this was a serious decision. Opening up his left arm for, still holding onto the blanket as to not drop it, she tried not to roll her eyes, knowing exactly what her Die Hard obsessed husband was about to say.

“Welcome to the party pal!”

And there it was. She failed to hide her smile, shaking her head at how there were just some things that screamed Jake Peralta, and she wouldn’t change them for the world. Sliding into his embrace that brought the comfort of a blanket with it, she continued to silently watch Jake and Mac enjoy their book, her head eventually making it’s way onto her husband’s shoulder. He glanced her way momentarily, maneuvering himself to make her more comfortable while still keeping Mac on his lap.

Only Jake could turn a book meant to be a 10-minute reading into a fun time that would occupy their son for over twenty minutes. But she was ever grateful at being able to enjoy a moment of calmness with the two, without the pressure to rush into the next task on her mind, simply listening to the laughs and giggles of her child. The soft fabric of his shirt under her head, the fragrance of their fabric softener and brushing of his fingers against her hand blurred the difference between sleeping next to him at night and the present moment. Amy didn’t hear as the loud voices of Jake and Mac turned into whispers as her eyes began to droop and she snuggled closer into Jake. She didn’t notice when Jake turned to the last page of the book and Mac moving onto the next toy that caught his attention.

Jake turned his attention to Amy, his heart and mind conflicting against each other when he took one look at her. He had been surviving through the day with unhealthy amounts of coffee and sugar, but she didn’t even have the option to take a day off from all the hats she wore and do it without the magic they called caffeine made his heart go out to her. He wanted to sit still and let her sleep for as long as she needed to, but he knew he shouldn’t. She would not be able to sleep at night if she slept now and it would make for a very grumpy Amy. And that began his mind spiral that instantly connected a grumpy Amy with no sleep with an upset Mac and the chaos that would ensue in their household. But he couldn’t bring himself to wake her up when he looked back at her, instead he wanted to instantly yell at the person who honked their car outside, he wanted his phone to not vibrate near her when he got a message, and he even wanted to tell Mac to play in his room as his son collided two of his toy cars together.

Luckily for him, he wouldn’t have to make a choice as he felt Amy moving next to him, her eyes slowly opening up again. He watched with a smile, the way she looked confused regarding her surroundings and slowly her mind clicking everything into place, her confused pout turning into a sleepy smile. When she looked up at him, it felt like a reminder of how lucky he was to wake up every morning next to his dream girl and in that trance of thoughts, he reached over, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, letting his hand rest on the side of her neck while his left arm remained a resting spot for her head.

“I know I’m a great pillow, but you should probably get changed before you sleep.” He whispered in the same gentle voice that would wake Mac up in the mornings or lull him to sleep when he was a baby.

As she nodded and moved away from him unwillingly, she almost groaned at the loss of warmth when he got up off the floor. Grabbing onto his outstretched hands, she lazily got off the floor and tried not to slouch as she walked into their room knowing very well Jake was right behind her.

He waited on their armchair, busy playing his age-old favourite game Angry Birds on his phone while she figured splashing cold water on her face would keep her awake for the next few hours. Amy walked out a few minutes later wearing the Christmas pajamas that matched Jake and Mac, even though they were well into January. He glanced up at her and his phone was immediately put to the side, his fear of the impending conversation momentarily forgotten since he had that sappy look in his eyes seeing his wife in the holiday themed clothes. Holding his hands his chest, she found herself rolling her eyes again while she looked through his plaid shirts, needing an extra layer for her inherently cold self. Picking up his hoodie from his side, he handed it over to her, taking in a deep breath before he meekly spoke.

“Soooo how much trouble am I in?” She smiled faintly while putting on his hoodie. Placing her hands on his shoulder, she almost felt bad for not being able to reply to his messages, realizing how he was holding in his breath worried about if he had upset her. She shook her head, rubbing his shoulder as she assured him she wasn’t mad at what he had said, instead he had made her long day a bit better when she saw his messy writing on a note.

“You’re not. I didn’t get a chance to check your messages until my shift was over. I’m not mad Jake.”

He sighed thankfully, the two of them taking a seat on their bed. She tried to smile at him but he knew something else was wrong. She might be upset about what he had done, but there was definitely something bothering her. Playing with her hands, she looked down and he stopped her by placing a hand over her joined ones. She shook her head, refusing to look at him keeping her eyes focused on the glint of his wedding band, letting out what had been bothering for the last few hours.

“Honestly, I messed up too. Rosa asked me to get drinks and I panicked in the moment. I told her we have plans but I don’t think she believed me. It was obvious I was lying, and she seemed really annoyed.”

They were horrible at keeping secrets and Rosa was one of her closest friends, which made it harder than ever. The woman had been her only support when she gave birth despite being horrified and uncomfortable the whole time. She was the first person to know about the struggles they had getting pregnant earlier and she had done nothing but listen to her patiently when she started her hormone treatments. They both knew all their friends they worked with were understanding of their need to keep their privacy, but it still never made it easier to keep a secret regarding something as major as a pregnancy from them. Amy knew Jake had been struggling to keep it from Charles just like she had been with Rosa, and all she wanted to do was let her friends know about how excited they were about another baby. But a fear lingered in the back of her mind, she didn’t want to risking telling the world and then having to un-tell everyone.

Understanding her unspoken words and feared, he placed a hand on the back of her shoulder in an attempt to be comforting. The silence lingered in the room, both of them thinking about the same thing knowing the decision they make was a big one. Waiting to tell everyone even after she was halfway through her pregnancy last time seemed easy because they were terrified that Amy may not have been able to carry the baby, but it came at the cost of not having their family and friends supporting them when they needed it. It may have brought them closer, but they had to go to extremes to hide the obvious from everyone, which only caused more unnecessary stress to Amy and they still failed to hide it.

Jake knew there was a mental debate going on in her mind, and he was ready to do what wanted. However, he couldn’t hold himself from telling her how hard it was to hide this news from people who knew them so well that they were probably going to figure out what they were hiding, just like they had previously.

“Well there’s also another thing. You know how Charles is, he says he has some “feeling” that there’s something going on and I’m hiding something big from him.”

He knew Charles could come on strong sometimes, but he also knew his best friend was able to easily read him and it was hard to not smile when he thought of the sonogram picture on his phone or his mind wandered to their growing family. He knew Charles would have an extreme reaction to another Peralta baby but he also knew how much easier it would be on Amy having all their friends being able to help out if and when they needed it.

“Should we start telling people?” He broke the silence, speaking out what was on both their minds.

She finally looked up at him, the eagerness to know her answer visible on his face, and his hand squeezing her when she tried to read his face and figure out what he wanted. But she knew better than to expect him to tell her what he wanted, never wanting to make such a decision for her, and only concerned with if she felt comfortable announcing her pregnancy. He sat next to her in silence, letting her ponder and weigh the benefits of both situations, her thoughts creating a tense confused expression on her face. Jake opened his mouth, wanting to assure her it was alright to not come to a decision right away when she nodded her head and turned to him.

“I think we should, but only after my appointment next week. I want to make sure everything’s okay first.”

Nodding in agreement, he was more relieved to see her visibly relax as she nodded again as if affirming her decision. That’s when she finally looked at him and smiled. Telling everyone about the baby made it all the more real, and it was a welcome change she wanted to embrace. She was excited about having another baby, and she wasn’t lying when she had told Jake she would enjoy and be thankful for her entire pregnancy, instead of worrying she was bad at making and carrying babies. The thought of how much she had meticulously spent the first half of her pregnancy with Mac scared of something going wrong was the final push to deciding they should tell their family and friends. Seeing her lost in thought, Jake was quick to reassure her that this was ultimately her choice, rubbing his hand across her back.

“And if you don’t feel ready next week either, that’s okay, alright?”

That soft look he gave with concern clouding his eyes had her wanting to kiss him right there and then if she felt like she would have the self-control to stop at kissing him. Looking away from him in an attempt to refrain herself, she looked down at her lap, a chuckle leaving her as his eyes followed hers.

“I know, but I don’t think I can hide it for much longer anyways.”

She moved their joined hands up to the rounding curve of her stomach, more visible than it had been when she was this far along with their son. His thumb gently ran up and down the bump she hid at work by loosely tucking her shirts at work, sporting an imperfect appearance according to her thus creating curiosity among their friends. But right now, in the comfort of their home, she was at ease and more than happy to show off the physical symbol of the baby they both couldn’t wait for. And it never hurt to see the twinkle in Jake’s eyes when he wore an affectionate smile looking at the growing bump. She didn’t realize she was reflecting an identical smile when his lips met her forehead, conveying the love and joy he felt but couldn’t put into words. Resting his head against hers, he chuckled at his own thoughts before trying to get rid of the serious mood they had been put in.

“You could always hide it by wearing that sexy hazmat suit again.”

His goofy smile replaced his serious face and she found herself chuckling at the thought of casually walking around their workplace in the bright red suit, her cheeks turning the same color out of embarrassment. She moved back and playfully punched his arm before making her way out of the room.

“What? You look amazing in everything!” She could hear him as she walked away and she smiled to herself. He would never stop making her laugh, and she would always be glad for it.

~~~~~

“Jake! Are you ready?”

Amy nervously tapped her feet against the dining area floor, while Jake struggled to keep his phone from falling down even after he held it up with the support of a vase. It had been a few days since Amy had gone in for her 12- week appointment and they had been thinking of who they should let in on their amazing secret and how. The first person who needed to be told was obvious, but it had still taken them a few days to decide how to break the news before they settled for a tried and tested method, at least that’s what Jake perceived from Yahoo Answers.

“It’s all set, but is it bad that I’m nervous?” He looked at their living room where their son was busy with his collection of crayons and coloring books. She glanced over at him, and shook her head not knowing if she wanted to smile or display her internal spiral to him.

“Nope, I am freaking out too. But I also want to know what happens!” She shrugged trying not to think of the worst-case scenario that could take place, hoping all the time they had spent on bedtime stories involving siblings, TV shows with siblings, and the talks about babies around the house had worked like she had read in the new parenting books that were on their shelves.

Taking a seat on either side of their toddler on the couch, Jake could only watch his wife and son trusting Amy to the honors more than himself. Clearing her throat, Amy caught Mac’s attention and brought forward a small gift bag she had been clutching onto behind her back.

“Mac, mom and dad have a present for you!”

Mac’s deep brown eyes went wide with excitement seeing the gift bag being forwarded to him by his mother, as if he had been offered all the sour gummies in the world. Amy tried not to think about how much his face mimicked Jake’s whenever he got a present. As an overjoyed squeal left Mac, he looked up at her and then his dad who nodded for him to accept the gift – the same manners that impressed his mother’s parents immensely – he grabbed the bag that was too large for his small hands.

“Thenk you!”

Amy ran her hand over his brown hair as the parents unknowingly began to inch closer to Mac, wanting to see exactly how he felt upon seeing his present. They looked at him with the even more anticipation than Christmas morning, eager yet scared to know whether he would be happy with the gift he was receiving. This time, a gift that was going to be a part of his life forever, whether he liked that idea or not. Pulling out a tee that was in his favourite color, Mac looked the happiest they had seen him all day. Jake helped him hold up the t-shirt in front of him so the large words that made them proud of themselves were visible to the child.

“What does it say?” Amy encouraged him to read the two words like she did every night before bed, waiting patiently knowing very well Mac would recognize both words.

“Big……brother.” The toddler looked confused as he lacked a confidence in his reading of his new role.

“Yes, it’s for you because you’re going to be a big brother. Do you know what that means?”

They could almost see the wheels turning in Mac’s head, hoping if none of their efforts had worked, he would still understand what it meant to be a big brother because of the younger siblings his day care friends had. Jake and Amy shared a look between themselves, worried they were about to deal with a meltdown if Mac didn’t like the idea of another baby in the house.

“Baby?!”

They would never forget the confused yet thrilled tone that Mac spoke with after making his parents hold in their breath to the point of needing a moment to recover. But they could also recognize that voice as the one before a happy laugh from their son, instead of a crying tantrum and their smiles immediately mirrored Mac’s. Looking back at him, the excitement on Mac’s face was evident as ever as he eagerly waited for some type of affirmation of his guess. Nodding her head, Amy could feel the happy tears starting to form in her eyes seeing her baby clapping his hands and immediately standing up on the couch, his calmness suddenly turned into energy upon hearing about a baby. Jake was glad he had to look up to see his son for it helped keep his joyous tears from falling. He carefully kept his arms ready to catch Mac who jumped off the couch, Amy letting the rule breaking slide this once, before he jumped on the carpet.

“Where’s baby?!”

They had seen their son fascinated by the younger siblings of his friends and the realization of how he would have wanted one for himself hit him in that moment. Jake could understand how amazing it must be for the young child to get a sibling of his own, as he had once wished while Amy suddenly felt like her heart had warmed inside her chest as she remembered her own excitement when her parents had told her she was going to be a big sister. Sliding next to Amy, Jake invited his son into his arm who was willingly to do anything his parents asked of him so he could see this baby they had just told him about. Standing in front of his dad, Mac was further amazed as his dad tried to explain where his little sibling was in the simplest words possible.

“The baby is in mommy’s tummy. We have to wait until the baby grows big enough to meet it’s big brother.”

The toddler nodded, slowly understanding and trying to make sense of what his dad was telling him. Once Jake’s words seemed to have made some logic in Mac’s mind, Amy couldn’t stop her tears when her son carefully walked up to her and placed his hand over the small bump that showed in her dress. Listening to her son wave and hi to the baby brother or sister he was already ready to meet, Mac was instantly kissed on his cheeks by his proud mother and pulled into a hug that he gladly reciprocated. Without a word, Jake did not want to be left alone and put his arms around the duo that make his eyes sweat as he would tell everyone when the video on his phone would be found by his friends a few months later.

“Dadda has baby too?”

Mac broke the hug, poking Jake’s stomach making his dad look at him mouth open, clearly offended by the implication. But Amy couldn’t hold back her laughter which made Mac laugh alongside her, clearly having the best day of his life as his mother gave him another hug.

“I have nachos & burritos, not a baby silly.” Jake scoffed and crossed his arm across his stomach to hide the extra little weight he may have put on since he last checked. Amy would never get tired of watching the antic of the father and son, but in that moment she only wanted to keep hearing that Mac was happy with the big change that was about to come.

“Are you excited to have a baby brother or sister?”

When their son nodded with the biggest smile they had seen, Amy let him onto her lap letting him put his arms around her as he thanked her. Feeling her husband’s hand wipe a tear off the corner of her eye before he wrapped them in his arms and Mac making himself comfortable with his head resting on her shoulder, Amy wished she could have frozen this moment in time. Patting her son’s head, she turned to Jake who had the same wish as his wife in that moment, feeling like everything that mattered to him was in his arms.

“Bean’s going to have an amazing big brother.” She whispered to him, adoring the inquisitive look Mac was giving her stomach, clearly the only person who was more eager to meet this baby than them.

“And an awesome mom.” She turned back to Jake who didn’t wait a moment before capturing her lips into his, wishing he could do anything to thank for her giving him a family he didn’t dare hope of before her. Parting back from her, he immediately felt her hand on his cheek tracing his jaw.

“And the best dad.” She knew he had understood the admiration she had spoke with when he looked down with an embarrassed smile before he diverted the attention away from himself to Mac, asking him what they should name the baby, only to get a Ninja Turtle name in return.

It really was like father, like son with the two, Amy thought to herself but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all I had for this chapter! I originally planned for this one to include announcing the pregnancy to everyone, but that is coming up next! 
> 
> I hope you all liked this one!
> 
> And all kudos and feedback are highly appreciated! :)


	6. Letting the World Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy is not one for wearing hazmat suits and carrying boxes to hide her second pregnancy.
> 
> So it's time to tell their family and friends!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Happy New Year everyone! 
> 
> So this update took some time - I needed a break during that weird week between Christmas and New Years, but it's finally here!
> 
> Hope it was somewhat worth the wait!
> 
> I hope you all like it! :)

Amy adjusted the floral centerpiece of the dining table once again, her eyes scanning the table and living room, making sure she had all the utensils set and every cushion had been fluffed just right. Their parents were coming over and although they were easily distracted from the state of their apartment and annoying each other by the charm of Mac Peralta, Amy still knew her mother was always looking around for perfection.

Every time she opened the door of her home to her parents, it felt like an opening for her mother to find something that wasn’t perfectly in order. It had been easy enough to please Camilla when it was just her living alone, manageable when Jake had moved in, but a challenge now that they had a toddler running around the house. And today, it felt impossible as she picked up another bottle of sparkling water, overcome with nerves about telling their parents, the nausea that was somehow still around, and the stress of having to clean their entire place.

Jake had been doing his best to calm her down, trying to put out fires as they began, quite figuratively and literally, as her mind wandered back to her burnt casserole. Jake had almost burned his hand trying to take out of the oven before it set off the fire alarm and was quick to arrange for takeout to feed everyone, solving that problem before it had her spiralling again. Although it had still taken her overly emotional self almost half an hour to stop her tears over the ruined dinner. She had sat on the couch holding tears back when she saw Jake and Mac’s fallen faces as they smothered her in hugs and her husband’s whispered assurances that everything would be fine, which had worked opposite to their intentions, making her cry at how much they loved her. It had taken a hot cup of her favourite tea and cuddles with her little boy over an episode of his favourite cartoons, besides the turtles, while Jake had been tiding up the kitchen to finally calm her nerves.

But now, the anxiousness was returning as she paced around the living area making sure everything was in place, wondering if they had enough wine to get their parents to be friendly but not drunk around her child, only to halt in her steps when she heard Jake’s voice.

“Okay Ames, you have to make a choice. Who rocks this outfit the best?”

With Mac in his arms, Jake walked up to her beaming as the two donned the signature Peralta look of the blue plaid, black jeans, and a single brown curl falling onto their foreheads. The frown on her face instantly vanished when she saw the father and son showing off how they were ready for their guests. As a blessing in disguise, Mac threw his arms forward towards Amy, and grateful to pick him needing to snatch the moments she still could hold him on her hip, she didn’t wait to take him from his father. Thoughts about the impending dinner were nowhere to be found.

“There’s no competition…Mac always looks the best.” She kissed the toddler’s cheek and shrugged her shoulders at Jake with a serious look, making him scoff as he placed his hands on his hip ready to disagree. However, Amy proudly smiled and gestured at Mac who had put his arms around her neck, giving Jake another person to huff at losing his wife and child’s attention.

“He got it from me…it’s basically my whole thing…so whatever…not that I care.” Jake mumbled to himself making Amy and Mac shared a look knowing what it was time for.

Leaning over, they both stretched out their hands, knowingly exactly where to tickle Jake so he was buckling in laughter, they continued to make him laugh until he was laying on the couch trying to catch his breath. Well aware his son was about to use the full force of his arms and legs to fight against being tickled, Jake took Mac from Amy when he began to retaliate the attack on him. Amy stood by watching with a smile on her face but a hand at her forehead not knowing whether to laugh with the two or shake her head at how they were ruining their perfectly ironed clothes. But she didn’t need to make a choice when she took a seat and watched the two tire themselves out in their tickle war, amused at how long Jake could keep up the energetic three year old, only to remind herself that her husband was nothing less than a child when playing with their kid.

However, a small ding from her phone took her out of the relaxed state she had ended up in, when she saw the message from her father letting her know they were car pooling with the Peraltas and would reach their home within the hour. Feeling the anxiousness rising to her chest again, she got up and stood next to Jake & Mac - her mom stare put on to show them how serious she was – Amy cleared her throat, enough to catch their attention.

“Okay you two need to calm down now and take a look at yourselves.”

Looking like they had been caught sneaking cookies into the grocery cart again, the duo sat up on the couch, Mac immediately activating his big brown puppy eyes and Jake straightening out his own shirt followed by their son’s. Rolling her eyes, she leaned over and each of her hands brushed through Jake and Mac’s hair, the two of them quietly sitting in front of her with their hands folded in their laps and smiles enjoying being taken care of her.

“Mac, sweetie go pick one toy and sit on the other sofa. Everyone’s going to be here soon so no messes.” Kissing the top of the toddler’s head after he nodded, she turned to her husband after Mac had hopped off the couch and was carefully busy in picking out his one toy.

“And Jake, come help me in the kitchen.” Immediately getting up and nodding, Jake was left hanging for a kiss he had prepared himself for, and sulked as he followed Amy.

Seeing her tensing up while he helped place the takeout into the fancy serving dishes, he tried to reach over to hold her hand, only for Amy to walk over to the dining table once again wondering if she had everything in place. Jake sighed as he watched from the open concept counter, knowing if their parents together had him on edge, then his wife was sure to be stressed and his efforts to keep that panic to a minimum was falling; evident by her hand reaching up to twist her hair which would slowly turn into braiding.

He knew they had come along way from Amy feeling the pressure to be perfect, meet her parents’ unrealistic expectation of their children, and worry about need to complete with her adult siblings, but some things had been engrained since her childhood. One of those things was the nerves she felt every time they had to tell her parents anything, including anything related to their relationship and growing family. Walking around the counter, he placed a hand on her shoulder, wishing there were a way for her to overcome the need get her parent’s, specifically her mother’s approval. Their relationship was a giant leap when she had not cared about what her parents had thought of him, something he was grateful for every day, but even with other baby steps she had taken, seeing her still worry about her mother’s nitpicking overtook him with a sense of helplessness. Rubbing her back in a silent reassurance that everything would be fine, his jaw clenched at the thought of the woman who was perfect to him in every sense feeling less than because of the pressure put on her since she was a little girl. Watching Amy’s other hand reach for her hair, Jake’s immediate impulse was to distract her by pushing negative thoughts to the back of her mind.

“No knives near my dad’s seat, right?” He tried to joke with her knowing it was a topic that was sure to make her wonder what family she married into but laugh at the expense of his father.

“He has no more thumbs that can be surgically reattached Jake.” Amy snapped back only to cover her mouth with her hands realizing what she said when she saw Jake’s eyes wide in shock.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry that was so mean!” She placed a hand on his arm looking apologetic while he shrugged it off and held her hands in his, wanting to understand what was bothering her since everything seemed to in place.

“Ehh, it’s true though, but more importantly, what are you so worried about? Everything is looking great.”

“I’m not worried, what makes you think I’m worried…” Amy tried to act as if she was fine, but should have known better than to even try hiding her worry since Jake simply pointed at her hair. Running his hand through the tangle she had created in her otherwise proper hair. When he pulled out a chair for her to sit in, she sighed and looked at his solicitous expression, knowing he was ready to fix anything and everything that was concerning her, but this time she knew he couldn’t do anything about it; for she was worried about her parents yet again.

“I don’t know, what if tonight is a disaster? My parents won’t let me live down how we got married without them and then how long we had waited to tell them about Mac.”

“Amy, I know their opinion matters to you the most. But…this is our baby and we get to choose when we want to share this news with them. Actually it’s all your choice, you’re carrying the baby and you should tell people when you’re ready for them to know. And your parents, my parents, and everyone else need to understand that.”

She took in a deep breath knowing he was right. It was a decision that was all hers, but she didn’t why she felt so obligated towards her parents, perhaps partially because her mother would have wanted to know immediately after she found out which she had made clear when they announced her first pregnancy five months in. But Amy nodded at Jake, knowing he was there supporting her choices and was her forever hype man, the thought making her smile, knowing he would be holding her hand when she told their parents and wouldn’t tolerate her parents’ critiques if they render her unable to speak up for herself.

“Anyways, I’m pretty sure it won’t be a problem. We’re telling them about another grandbaby babe! They’ll be too excited about the bean to think of anything else.”

He excitedly beamed and gestured at her stomach that had already formed a bump at fourteen weeks that she was already trying her best to hide with jackets and loose blouses at work. Placing her hand on top of her growing belly, she couldn’t never control her smile thinking about how unreal it felt to be pregnant again, but when his hand rested on hers, it always became real once again. And for the time being, it didn’t matter what anyone thought because they knew what it was taking for her to be positive this time around and not spiral in worry about something going wrong. Nodding slightly, she met Jake’s eyes, still filled with concern reflecting amidst the curtain of his goofiness but it could no longer fool her and she had learned to pick up his methods of turning around serious conversations. Looking at him with a serious expression, she tried to hold in her smile as she acted like this was the most important rule ever.

“Babe…promise me you won’t call the baby a bean in front of my parents.” Seeing his tense shoulders relaxing, she knew he was back when he immediately objected to that idea.

“But, but, but-”

“No buts Jake.” She put her finger on his lips to shush him.

“Title of our sex tape?” He quietly mumbled after a glance towards Mac who was too far to hear anything.

“Is that what you want it to be?” She raised her brows in surprise and he immediately regretted his brain’s need to bring up sex tapes.

“No, no, no, never mind!” He looked like a child pleading for a toy and she didn’t hold back her laughter making his animated panic subside as he joined her. But as soon as he found her eyeing the table again, he held her hand and stood up making her follow. And he knew he had to bring out his foolproof tactic to get his wife to relax.

“Okay, staring at the table isn’t going to do anything, come with me.”

Leading her into the living room, he began to search through her shelf of board games and puzzle to pull out a puzzle that he knew she had bought to put together with Mac. Holding it up, he predicted her thinking everything would turn into a mess and pointed towards their small den getting her approval as she called out to Mac, who excitedly following inheriting his love for puzzles from both his parents.

Amy didn’t even realize how much time had gone by in helping and watching Mac putting together a puzzle until the doorbell rang throughout the house making the three of them spring up to greet their guests. As soon as their parents had gotten into the home, Jake dutifully offer to take their coats while Amy was prepared to bring out the wine if their parents had somehow managed to get into some type of argument or competition on their drive over.

And sure enough their parents were already muttering amongst themselves about whose fault it was that they had show up fifteen minutes late. Luckily, Jake and Amy looked at each other knowing they had the answer to all their problems and called out to the one person who could create peace within their parents even more than alcohol. Sharing a quick hi-five when they call Mac over, and their parents immediately had turned into the sweetest people on Earth, Jake and Amy knew the news of another grandchild would have their parents sharing hugs. Sitting down with their parents, they looked on with as Jake’s mother offered Mac a newly knit sweater and coloring books while Amy’s mother showed of the bright colorful children’s books & even more puzzles, knowing their son was charming enough to keep everyone happy. They shared a proud smile when everyone got thank yous and hugs from their grateful little toddler, knowing if there was anyone who win over everyone, it was their baby.

Everything seemed to be going great, until everyone made their way over to the dining where Amy was sure she had seen their moms whispering to each other as they looked towards her, more specifically she was wondering if they had noticed what Jake had pointed out in the bedroom to her a few days ago – her tops seemed to be struggling to contain her boobs. Covering her front with cardigan, she signalled Jake with a look he understood very well and went to grab the two bottles of wine that would make both their mothers happy.

“Please give me the good wine Jake.” Karen made a snide remark at Camilla’s choice in wine, making the latter smirk as she wondered aloud if she was referring to the wine she was drinking herself. Rolling his eyes at their moms, Jake found himself pouring just a bit more wine than usual in an attempt to get them to stop before he took his seat next to Amy and Mac.

“Amy, what is all this takeout? Kids need to eat nutritious homemade food.” Camilla commented realizing immediately the food wasn’t made by her daughter or Jake. The latter glared at her and wanted to yell at his mother-in-law like he had few years back, but bit the inside of his mouth to silence himself for the sake of Amy’s sanity.

“What’s wrong with takeout? Jake practically grew up on it.” Karen shrugged and Roger agreed making Jake tense up before he looked away at Mac, helping him with his plate and Amy put up a phony smile at Roger’s agreement wishing he would not talk about Jake growing up in front of her. Similar to Jake, Amy bit the inside of her mouth to keep herself from making this dinner into a complete failure.

“Okayyy let’s not get into Jake’s childhood for the sake of everyone here.” Amy directed her words towards Roger who busied himself with his drink immediately, while Jake silently thanked her, his left hand clasping onto her right. 

“Mrs. Santiago! Could you pass some of those peas? They are Mac’s favourite, right buddy?” Jake matched Amy’s phony smile as he raised his brows at Camilla who silently adhered to his request as Mac joined in, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Pass peas, pwease.”

Squeezing their hands under the table, Jake and Amy silently thanked Mac, their saviour. The entire table was now busy with the toddler again and everyone had calmed down. With their parents smiling and laughing with each other again, they knew it was the perfect time to tell them before something else would come up or someone would notice her glass was full of more sparkling water instead of alcohol. Standing up, Amy easily caught everyone attention and not letting go her hand, Jake followed always letting her talk during announcements after his nervous excitement caused a disaster at their sex reveal party.

“Before everyone starts, Jake and I wanted to let you know why we invited you for dinner on such short notice.” Jake quickly walked away to their room and returned with two wrapped gifts and handed one to each set of parents.

“We’re sorry for not being able to spend the holidays with any of you, so we wanted to make it up to all of you.” He explained rejoining Amy’s side, both of them eagerly waiting for their parents’ reactions.

Opening up the box, their parents found an envelope resting on top of the colorful paper and their mothers had a knowing look even before they opened it up and held out a sonogram for everyone to see.

“This is a weird kidney.” Jake’s father was the first to speak up making everyone roll their eyes.

“It’s a sonogram Roger!” Karen had to reach under her glasses to wipe a tear from her eyes.

“Amy, _mija_?” Victor still looked on surprised, and the idea of his only daughter having another baby not setting in.

Enjoying the surprised looks on everyone’s face, Jake and Amy sported the same expression of excitement of wide eyes and open mouths finally able to say aloud what they had be holding in for weeks and the wait was worth every bit of overjoy they saw on their parents’ faces.

“I’m pregnant!” Amy exclaimed making the news very real for everyone sitting at the table and they all stood up in surprise.

“Baby number two!” Jake gestured towards Amy’s stomach as their parents made their way over to them and Mac stood up on the dining chair, understanding if his parents were talking about the baby, it was no longer a secret he had to keep.

“Baby!” He shouted and bounced on the weight of his legs, and Roger was quick to take the toddler in his arms, everyone then realizing Mac was wearing his “big brother” tee under the flannel.

With his smiling grandson in his arms, Roger patted Jake’s back, a silent congratulations knowing his son was the first great Peralta dad he’d known, breaking a terrible cycle and his new grandbaby would get everything he had failed to give Jake.

Karen was immediately in tears as she gave Jake a hug with all her strength, her heart swelling at the thought of being a Nana once again, but more so out of happiness for her son. She never thought she’d see the day Jake would find someone to love him as much as he deserved and was deprived of as a child until he had introduced her to Amy. She had hoped her own marriage hadn’t destroyed Jake’s chance at a happy one and and now she got to see him with his own family that was growing, she was more thankful for Amy Santiago than ever before; something she would whisper into her daughter-in-law’s ear when congratulating her. 

Camilla didn’t lose her proper demeanour often, but hearing that her only daughter was pregnant again and there was nothing that would stop her from softly stroking Amy’s hair like she used to years ago before she gave her a hug. She had quietly listened to Jake shutting down the conversation about more children two years ago and it was the one time she hadn’t pushed her daughter further knowing how much she had struggled with the topic. She had given up on the thought of more grandkids from Amy, but this was a true surprise that she couldn’t be happier about and her only wish was this time around she didn’t have to face the same challenges as before. And something about Amy’s excitement and the earlier announcement made her believe her wish had already been fulfilled.

Victor was a man of a few words, but today he couldn’t say anything since it was one of the few times he had been genuinely speechless. He stood back for a moment holding back his emotions unable to believe his daughter was going to have another child. He stayed quiet knowing he would something how it only seemed like it was short while ago when Amy was no older than Mac himself, which would lead him to lose the control he had on his emotions. Instead, he settled for giving her a hug, Amy understanding his gesture – the man who never shied away from praising her for her achievements could never express his sentiments unless it would be to the baby when it finally arrived.

With their squabbles long forgotten about, their dinner table was full of thrilled chatter about a new baby, including promises of more babysitting and visits by the grandparents who were over the moon, Karen’s preparation to start knitting a blanket for the new baby to match the one she had made for Mac, and Camilla already messaging the rest of the family while Roger and Victor tried to calm down them down. However, the excitement never died down when Mac joined in with his grandparents after he was asked about how he felt about being a big brother, and it didn’t seem like there were enough hours in the evening to say everything their parents wanted to say. They took in their parents’ joy until the end of the night when Jake and Amy were taken into hugs once again, and a half-asleep Mac was showered with kisses and used the last of his energy to give everyone hugs as they left for the night.

As the house was silenced after their parent’s departure, Amy could only give Jake a thankful kiss when he offered to take bedtime duty letting her head to bed earlier knowing they would go through the same thing tomorrow when they told the nine-nine about the baby. Laying in bed with closed eyes, waiting for Jake, Amy smiled to herself wondering how she would have gotten through the day had her husband not calmed her down, and their wedding day and vows came to her mind as a reminder of how they would get through their crazy days. Hearing Jake shuffle into bed silently under the impression she was sleeping, she relaxed into his embrace when he put his arms around her. Her last thought before her exhausting day came to an end why was she ever worried about tonight when Jake was with her.

~~~~~

_The Following Night – Shaw’s Bar_

Waiting for the squad to show up, Jake and Amy sat in a bar without any drinks, sticking out in the crowd like a rainfall in the summer. Unable to contain their secret anymore now that everything had gone well with their parents, Jake was refraining from yelling Amy is pregnant at the bartender who kept returning to them, focussing on trying to make sure they got the reactions they wanted from everyone.

“So, Charles has to faint for real this time. I’m going to find someone to record the whole thing!” Jake began to look around wondering if his idea meant he would have to tell a stranger about their pregnancy and Amy shook her head.

“Jake.” She held his hand to stop him from random people about their baby.

“You’re right, they probably already know anyways. We should do the twins thing again.” His face lit up like a bulb as if he had solved another unsolvable case.

“Jake.” Amy sighed trying not to let him spiral into another crazy idea that would end up like the green sex reveal cake.

“No you’re right. We’ve already done that. Let’s go with triplets.”

“Jake.” She brought a stern tone into her voice knowing he was serious and saw his eyes widen immediately with a shocked smile on his face.

“Oh my god, are we actually having more than one?” She wanted to laugh but knew she had to stop his rambling.

“No Jake! It’s one baby and that’s what we’re telling everyone. Also it’s one baby that makes me feel very sick when I smell beer apparently.”

“Right. Ginger ale duty calls.” Jake looked around wondering where the bartender had gone now that they needed something other than water.

Hopping off the barstool with a kiss on her forehead, he walked away to get her the soda, mumbling something about why anyone would put ginger in pop. Watching him walk away, she tried to ignore the scent of beer, specifically the pilsners that made her want to run away to the bathroom, she looked around wanting to record this for Jake’s sake.

As the nine-nine slowly trickled into the bar, thinking this was just another evening to grab drinks, it was clear something was up when a completely sober Jake was more upbeat than usual and impatient for everyone to arrive. And as soon as Charles arrived, Jake didn’t even let him get a sentence about of his new Nikolaj story in before he asked everyone to gather around. Wondering what he was up to, knowing it couldn’t be too chaotic because of how much Amy was smiling, they shared looks and whispered theories with each other – Holt quietly drinking his wine, keeping silent because he was almost sure about what was about to take place.

“Attention nine-nine! We have an important announcement to make!” Jake yelled slightly louder than needed and Amy linked their arms in an attempt to calm down his excitement.

Waiting until everyone had quieted down, all they needed to do was share a knowing nod between themselves before they yelled in complete sync.

“I’m pregnant!” “We’re pregnant!”

“Baby numero dos!”

They shared a hi-five while laughing as soon as Charles fainted and Terry had to catch him, dropping his drink in the process but still yelling “oh my gosh”, although they were unsure if it was because of Boyle or the baby. Rosa instinctively punched Jake’s arm making Amy rub the sore arm while enjoying the satisfaction of making their straight-faced friend smile as she congratulated them. Meanwhile everyone found themselves sighing after they were given more hugs, prompting Hitchcock and Scully to wonder aloud how many children everyone on the squad had, confused amongst themselves. Ignoring the two, Jake and Amy turned to their captain waiting for his reaction as eagerly as they had waited for their parent’s reactions, sharing another hi-five when Holt raised his glass for a toast for them & a smile and nod from him came their way.

As the squad’s drinking began once again, Jake and Amy walked hand in hand beelining towards Holt, stopping for even more hugs and congrats from everyone. Reaching their superior, they looked at each other behind his back, communicating in their own silent way that no one else ever understood, they were interrupted by Holt calling out their name, asking them to speak up. Nudging Amy slightly, letting her take the lead again, although they both knew they ended up rambling when they talked to Holt, Amy pulled out a giftbox from her large bag that contained the mugs similar to the ones their parents had received the previous night.

“Captain, Amy and I had little something for you and Kevin.” Jake quickly muttered and Amy forwarded the gift wondering if he would finally take a present from them.

Considering it for a moment, Holt took the gift box opening it to reveal grandpa Ray and grandpa Kev mugs and he immediately closed the lid on the box setting it on the counter. Raymond Holt never thought he would consider himself a father to anyone, and a grandfather was out of the question not knowing it would change when he first walked into the nine-nine. He never thought the two detectives, one which lived to impress him and the other that couldn’t care less, would make their way into becoming prominent parts of a family he never thought he would have. It felt surreal knowing what he had once called a childish marriage, would have him seeing the man he considered a son becoming an amazing father contrary to what Jake thought of himself and Amy proving herself once again as she handled a child other than her man-child husband.

But he had no doubt this baby was about to showered with love from its wonderful parents, and all six of its grandparents evident from their gift. It felt like the first time he and Kevin had visited McClane and they assumed Jake had joked about them being grandpas to the infant, only for them to now have scheduled dinners with the toddler and a room perfect for him in their home.

While Holt was lost in his thoughts, Jake and Amy shared nervous looks wondering if the captain didn’t like their gift, Jake almost contemplating reaching over and taking the present away as if nothing ever happened. 

“Santiago, Peralta, I am quite overjoyed as you can tell. I did not intend to cause such a kerfuffle with my display of emotion.” Squeezing their joined hands, they tried not to show their visible exhilaration at the captain’s approval but when Amy nudged Jake, he knew he had to say something before Amy blurted out something she would regret later on.

“Come on, don’t give us robot captain, you’re going to be grandpa Ray to another baby!” Ready to listen to more robot jokes, they were taken aback when Holt took a moment before he let go holding back his cheerful smile.

“I am honored you consider Kevin and I as a part of your family, son. I could not be happier for the two of you and McClane.”

Placing a hand on Jake’s shoulder, he wasn’t taken aback when the father-to-be scrunched his face in an attempt to hold back his dramatic tears, and Amy thanked him before moving her husband away, a reassuring gesture of rubbing his back evident as they took a seat. Turning his back to them when the couple moved into a closer into the booth, his shaking that some things wouldn’t ever change with the two no matter how older they grew.

Sighing in relief that they wouldn’t have to keep this secret anymore, Jake and Amy shared another soda raising their glass whenever they made eye contact with anyone on the squad. Getting a moment alone, Jake’s hand took its place over Amy’s shoulder as she leaned onto his shoulder, relieved with the faint fragrance of his cologne covering the nauseating smell of the bar, and the fatigue of the last two days hitting her like bricks. Knowing they were leaving as soon as they finished their drink needing to get back to their kid – soon to be kids – Jake rested his head on Amy’s, a whispered realization leaving him.

“Wow…we’re going to be a family of four Ames.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now!
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed it! <3
> 
> Any kudos/comments that you could leave would mean a lot!


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